The Author, The Rogues, and The Oni
by Yours The Author
Summary: The countries invite The Author to the movies. This would be fine, but The Author isn't supposed to be with the countries, so that no one cult member gets favored over another. At the theater, she meets a trio of rogues, who seem to be in the wrong place. Then, she gets pulled into a strange and familiar world, and must use her wits to escape... or else...
1. Acting Okay with This

Welcome, welcome, welcome! This is Yours The Author here, bringing you the third book in the Cult Series! Hoo, boy, are we in for a long one. This may end up being the longest book I've written… or it might not be. We'll just have to wait and see!

I'm probably not going to write another chapter for this for a while. I go back to college soon, and I'll be busy with work. I hope I'll have a little time to write, but don't count on it.

 **Trigger Warnings:** Contains OC heart OC, OC death, blood, gore, crying, demons, and labeling.

I'll see you at the bottom of the page.

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The Author, The Rogues, and The Oni

Chapter 1: Acting Okay with This

I was fiddling with my phone when my life changed. Again.

The doorbell rang, and I sighed. Being the only one not tied to a video game, it fell to me to answer the door (My little brother and sister—The Gamer and The Deviant, respectfully- were playing Brawl). I walked to the door, opened it, and—

 _Whoosh!_

I gasped as the wind blew through me, a lukewarm gust that spread to my limbs and disappeared as quickly as it came. I had felt that wind before.

I blinked and did a double take. Standing before me, on my own front porch, were twelve countries, all anime-like, just like I was now. I counted them just to be sure; Feli, Lovino, Ludwig, Gilbert, Alfred, Arthur, Mathew, Francis, Yao, Kiku, Ivan, and Antonio.

"Guys?" I said.

Feli, who was at the head of the group, nodded. "Si, ragazza. We came to ask you something."

"Sure, what is it?" _All twelve of them came to ask me something?_ I thought. _It must be something entirely dire. What could it be? A dangerous mission_?

"Would you like to go to the movies with us?" Feli asked.

Oh.

I hesitated. As cool as it would have been to watch a movie with my favorite characters, I was technically banned from hanging out with the countries until further notice.

See, after the whole debacle of being teleported to an alternate dimension, my older sister The Vet and friend Brittany Davis agreed (for once) that it would probably be a good idea to give me a "break" from the cult. That, and no one was really allowed to hang out with the countries one on one, to be fair to everyone in the cult. This was pretty much breaking the rules right here.

"Um," I said, looking down at my feet. "That's really cool of you guys, and I'd like to go, but I'm not really allowed to be with you. People might get jealous or something, and I don't want to get into trouble, and—"

"The others don't have to know," Feli said. "Come on, ragazza, we asked _you_. After everything we've been through together, don't you want to do friend things with us?" The other countries behind him nodded in agreement.

I paused. Then I slowly asked, "Are you _sure_ we won't get into trouble?"

Feli put one hand behind his back and crossed his heart with the other hands finger. "I promise, ragazza."

"Well…" I said slowly. I _really_ didn't want to get into trouble. Feli's eye twitched. "…Okay. I'll go with you guys."

Feli sighed and clapped his hands together. "Bueno. Let's go right now—"

"Hold up, Feli," I said. "I have to tell my siblings I'll be gone. Don't want to just disappear off the face of the Earth, right?"

"…Right," Feli said. He seemed annoyed, but I wasn't very good at reading expressions, so I chalked it up as me reading him wrong.

I put on some flip flops and poked my head into the living room. My siblings hadn't moved from their spots an inch. "Hey, guys?" I said.

"Yeah?" The Deviant said. I flinched, unaccustomed to my siblings being anime in appearance, which they weren't aware of due to the laws of alternate dimensions. The Gamer said nothing.

"If anyone asks—and don't worry, no one will ask—but if someone asks, I'm going with The Artist to the movies. Okay?"

"Okay," The Deviant said. "Bye, Author."

"Bye, Devi." I walked back to the door. The countries were still standing outside, some tapping their feet or checking their watches. "Okay, I'm ready now. So, where are we going?"

"Endlich…" Ludwig muttered. Gilbert smacked Ludwig's arm and they glared at each other.

"Is… everything okay?" I asked.

"Ja." Gilbert said shortly. I decided not to press him.

"So, what movie are we seeing? Should I bring popcorn money?"

"It's a surprise, bella," Lovino said. He gestured to the white van with black windows parked in my driveway. Of course. Only a van would fit all of the countries. "Now, let's-a-go!"

I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Since when was Lovino so chipper and Feli so… not? I climbed into the van with the other countries while Feli got into the driver's seat. I glanced back at my house as the van drove away. It would be the last I saw of my house for a long time.

 ** _About Fifteen Minutes Later_**

"Wow," I said. When Feli said we were going to the movies, I pictured one of the small theaters that were relatively close to home. Nothing like this!

The building looked to be two stories high, taking up most of the parking lot, which was surprisingly empty. It was brick, with two large signs that were probably supposed to show what movies were playing. For some reason, they were blank.

"Is this place open?" I asked. Wait, where was this place? Surely, I would have seen it before. I must not have been paying enough attention to where we were while we were driving.

"Hai," Kiku said shortly. Was it just me, or was everyone short on temper today?

We walked inside. The interior was even more magnificent than the outside. Clean yellow marbled floors, high ceilings, and two long counters on either side of the room, serving popcorn and other snacks. The actual theaters were tucked into the back, and there were signs for the bathrooms by the theater rooms. And it was completely empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked. My voice seemed to echo slightly.

"Can you keep a secret, poppet?" Arthur asked.

"Yes?"

"This theater is brand new, and only a few people can get in at this point in time!" Arthur looked proud of himself, for some reason.

"…Cool." What else could I say? I wasn't sure how to feel about that information. I was still worried about getting caught. Oh, that reminded me…

"Hey guys, I'll be right back. I have to use the bathroom," I said.

"Wirklich?" Gilbert muttered.

"I'll be right back, don't worry." I walked over to the bathroom, looking back only once. All of the countries were looking in my direction; not a one was talking to another. I turned my head and quickened my pace. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting.

When I reached the bathroom, I thought, _oh no. People._

Somehow, I hadn't noticed that there were three other people in the building; two boys and a girl. One boy had slicked-back black hair and was wearing a dirty polo shirt and ripped jeans. The girl had her arms wrapped around his neck, her blonde hair curly and hypnotizing. She was wearing ripped jeans and a white blouse. The last boy had short blonde hair and had a dirty hoodie and not ripped jeans on.

 _Rogues,_ I immediately labeled them. I kept my head down and hurried to the bathroom. Maybe they wouldn't talk to me—

"Hey, you," the boy with black hair said.

Shoot. I hurried faster.

"Bobby, get her attention."

Just as I reached the door to the bathroom, I felt two hands grip me by the shoulders, lift me up, and turn me around. I was now facing the group of three, the blonde boy being the one who lifted me up. I put my hands together and stared at my feet.

"Hey," the black-haired boy said again.

"…Hey," I said quietly, not looking away from my feet.

"You came here with all of them?" The black-haired boy pointed behind me, and I looked to see him pointing at the countries.

"Yeah," I said, not daring to elaborate.

"What, you doing some compensated dating with all of them?" I looked up in surprise. I hadn't expected him to know what that was. I only knew because the word had been used in a YouTube video I watched about a year ago.

"N-no," I said. "They're just some friends I met… a while ago. It's not a date or anything!"

"Hmm," the girl said before nuzzling her face into the black-haired boy's neck.

The blonde boy said nothing. He looked almost… nervous?

"Hey, what's your name?" the black-haired boy asked suddenly.

I looked back down at my feet. "T-the Author," I said quietly.

"What, don't you have a real name?"

"I prefer not to tell strangers my name, if you don't mind."

"I'm Ryan. This is Sally," the blonde girl glanced up at me with a smirk, "and this is Bobby," Bobby nodded at me, his forehead sweaty. "Now, what's your _real_ name?"

I glanced behind me at the countries. They were still looking at me, even more impatient seeming than before. "I'm sorry, I don't want to keep my friends waiting. Bye," I hurried into the bathroom. None of the rogues followed me.

I finished my business and left through the bathroom door. I was worried that the rogues would still be there, but they seemed to have left. The countries, however, were now waiting on me outside.

"Took you long enough," Ivan said. The other countries nodded, except for Arthur.

"Now, now, everyone, the poppet was just meeting some new friends! Say, would you like a cupcake, poppet?" Arthur handed me a cupcake from seemingly nowhere.

"Sure, thanks," I said, taking it from him. It was beautifully decorated, a chocolate cupcake with white icing piled high on the top. I took a bite, remembering only a second later that Arthur was supposed to be a bad cook. However, the cupcake tasted just as sweet as I had first expected. Maybe baking was more Arthur's strength? "This is delicious; thank you, Arthur!"

Arthur put a hand to his chest and smiled, eyes closed. Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Come on, ragazza," Feli sad, taking my arm in his. "The movie will start soon."

I let Feli pull me to the nearest movie theater, the other countries surrounding us, as if to not allow us to escape.

The theater was dark, as if the movie had already started. I saw three shadowy figures sitting near the front. It seemed that the rogues were watching the same movie as us. Say, where were the tickets for the movie? The countries hadn't given me a ticket, and there hadn't been anyone to take the tickets from us in the first place. Things weren't adding up…

 _Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,_ a smooth, lovely woman's voice echoed throughout the room. Her voice made me feel tingles run up and down my spine, like someone was tracing a cold fingertip along my bones. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear much more of her voice. _Welcome to this theater. I hope you enjoy your stay, since it's the last place you'll see… after this!_

Suddenly, I felt something cold run through my body. I tried to cry out, but my voice choked in my throat. I clutched the arm rests tightly, and I heard some quiet moans from in front of me. I closed my eyes and felt the cold feeling spread to my extremities, making me lose my grip on the arm rests… and this world.

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Bum bum buuuumm!

Another cliffhanger! The things I put you poor readers through! Blah blah blah.

Remember, if you don't want to keep looking through the Ao Oni/Hetalia tab of this website, either follow me or follow this story. It'll save you a lot of trouble.

So, who are these rogues? Why are they in the theater and no one else is? You'll have to wait to find out.

So leave a review, tell me what you thought, and I'll see you next time. Until then!


	2. Acting as Told

Look who's back, back, back again? It's me!

So, yeah, don't expect another chapter anytime soon. I mean, I might write another one soon? It _is_ Jan Term for me, which means one class and more free time. But once February rolls around, don't expect any miracles, okay?

Also, apologies, because a lot of these stories will probably involve a lot of boring descriptions of the setting and door opening. I want to make sure that you, The Reader, knows where the story is taking place at all times. Sorry if it gets boring.

Also also, shout out to Starry's Light for leaving a review! I was wondering if it would ever happen, and it did! Thank you for lighting up my life a little bit. Also, I know you don't know Hetalia at all, but it would probably be a good idea to read The Cult of Veneziano and The Cult of Steve, the two prequels to this story, just so you don't get confused by any references that might pop up. You don't really have to know Hetalia to read these stories, but it would probably be a good idea. Don't do it if you don't want to, but if you get confused about something, you can ask me and I'll tell you.

Alright, enough about that, you're here for the story, not me! See you at the bottom of the page.

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Chapter 2: Acting as Told

"…Think she'll wake up soon?"

"Maybe. What do you think that shattering sound was?"

"Hey, speak of the devil."

I grunted slightly and rolled onto my side. My coat was making me uncomfortably warm… wait. Coat?

I sat up and immediately held my swimming head. I blinked away the stars in my eyes and looked down at myself. I was still anime-like, but I was now wearing black pants, a black coat, and a long white scarf around my neck. What was going on?

"Took you long enough. We've been up for a few minutes now." Someone said.

I looked up to see the rogues from earlier, now wearing different clothes. Ryan, the black haired one, was wearing black pants and a white dress shirt. Bobby, the blond one, was wearing the same thing. He had his arms crossed and looked nervous, so he wasn't that different. Sally was wearing a blue pleated skirt and a long sleeved blue Japanese school uniform shirt with a red neckerchief. The outfit made her blond hair seem to shine more elegantly and made her curves more apparent. She wasn't too thin or too thick; she was just right.

They were all also anime like, but from what I had been told about the logic of the anime dimension thing, they didn't seem aware of it. They probably saw things as I would have if not for the countries coming into contact with me.

"…What happened?" I asked quietly.

"Beats me," Ryan said. "We were in the theater, waiting for the film to start, and then we felt this cold feeling after the intercom lady stopped talking, and now we're here."

"I felt the same way," I said. "It was an awful feeling, like ice was consuming me. Speaking of here," I looked around. We were in a foyer of sorts, with stairs leading up to a second floor, a hall that lead to a door, a door leading to the back of the foyer, and two other halls that lead towards longer hallways. The walls were white and the floor was light brown wood boards. "It looks… familiar, but I don't know why. What is this place?"

"Like we would know," Sally snapped. I put my hands up in defense.

"This place looks familiar, huh?" Ryan said. "That's interesting…" He smiled, but it wasn't a good smile. "Since you're the one who seems to know this place the best, maybe you should be the one to look around and find someone here who can tell us what's going on. Sound good?"

Sally and Bobby turned to look at me expectantly. I rubbed my hands together. "Um," I said, "wouldn't it be better to stick together?"

"Nah," Ryan said, "you can do it. I believe in you." I took that as sarcasm.

"What about that door?" I asked, pointing to the front hall that had a door at the end.

"We tried that earlier, but it's locked tight," Sally said. "I betcha that's the front door to this place."

"Hmm…" I said. "I still think it would be better not to split up."

"We're not splitting up; we're waiting for you to check the hallways. Besides, we know _someone_ has to be here. We heard a shattering sound earlier while you were down and out," Ryan said. Sally smirked at me, still leaning on Ryan. Bobby sweated.

 _Shattering sound? That doesn't sound good…_ "Maybe we should put it to a vote?" I asked, then mentally hit myself. Of _course_ a vote wouldn't work in my favor.

"Okay," Ryan said, grinning. "All in favor of The Author checking by herself, raise your hand." Ryan, Sally, and Bobby raised their hands. I shot Bobby a look, and he shrugged at me.

"Um, no. Not fair. I hate you all." I said.

Ryan shrugged. "Them's the breaks, kid. Good luck. We'll be right here, waiting for you. We won't move an inch, promise."

"I don't really trust your promises, but I guess I have no choice," I grumbled.

Ryan snickered. "That's the spirit, champ. Have fun!" Sally waved me toodle-loo, and Bobby nodded at me.

I harrumphed and made my way down the hall to the right, looking back only twice.

The hall was empty, save for two doors, one on the left side of the hall and one at the hall's end. I checked the side door, and it was locked. Sighing, I reached the end door to find it unlocked. I opened the door.

It appeared to be some sort of kitchen, with dark wood floors and lime green walls. There were some counters and appliances tucked into the back corner, the middle of the room was occupied by a brown table with four chairs, and the other side of the room had a white carpet with two white sofas; one facing the wall and the other facing the table. Cozy, but empty.

I walked absently towards the fridge when I noticed a plate on the ground. It was shattered, but something about it was off.

"Hmm," I murmured aloud. "It's not like it was dropped… more like it was stepped on." If it had been dropped, more shards would have flown away from the original drop point, but the pieces were too close together.

I knelt down and picked up a decent sized shard. It was white and shiny, reflecting my face. I gazed into my own eyes for a minute before putting the shard into one of the coat's pockets. "Ooh, deep pockets!" I said aloud. "Guess that solves the mystery of the shattering sound. But who broke the plate…?" I shook my head and made my way back to the foyer. Wait a minute…

"Wait a minute!" I cried as I hurried to the foyer to confirm my suspicions. The three rogues were gone, and I was all alone. "Come on, guys, really?" I moaned. Great. Now I would have to look for them myself and hope they weren't playing a trick on me.

I continued walking straight, into the hall on the left of the foyer. There were, again, only two doors; one on the right and one straight ahead. I walked past the door on the right, and as I was passing by, a shadow slipped by next to me from behind the door. I stopped short, just in time to see the shadow leave the fogged glass door. Hesitant, I turned the handle, but it was locked. Maybe one of the rogues was in there? I knocked quietly. No one responded. I huffed and tried the other door. It was also locked. I gave the glass door one final glance before returning to the foyer.

I turned to the door near the back of the foyer, but that was locked, too. "Only one place left to look, I guess," I said. "I hope this place isn't that big…"

I walked up the stairs. There was a door to my right and to my left, with a short hallway down from the middle. Between the two doors was a piece of paper nailed to the wall. I took a closer look; a purple-y blue crayon drawing of what looked like a map of sorts. I tore it off the war carefully and examined it. The squares and rectangles looked like the foyer and halls downstairs, with the stairs leading up to nothing. Were there more maps like this?

I stuck the map into my deep pocket and checked the door to the left; it was locked. I tried the door in front of the stairs. It opened, revealing what appeared to be a bedroom. The bed was tucked into the corner, and the back wall was lined with a closet, some drawers, some book cases, and a desk with a chair.

I could swear that I'd seen this room before… but from where?

Following the déjà vu feeling, I walked to the desk, and—

WHUMP!

I jumped a bit and looked just in time to see the closet shake. I kept an eye on it as I reached under the desk and retrieved a key. It was a simple silver key, about the length of my palm, with a tag tied to it. "Library Key: Floor 1", it read. I stuffed the key into my pocket and turned my full attention to the closet. My heart quickened its beat. I walked slowly, placing my feet carefully to avoid any unnecessary noise, and I opened the closet door—

"Yipe!" Bobby and I yelped. I clapped a hand over my mouth and sighed in relief. Bobby was sitting in the unusually large closet, shivering and holding his knees to his chest.

"Bobby," I breathed, "why did you guys leave me alone? Is this a prank?"

"I-I-I…" Bobby stammered.

I softened my gaze and leaned closer to him. "What happened?"

"…" Bobby's mouth moved, but no sound came out. I frowned, trying to think of a way to help.

"Want some water? There was a plate, so there's bound to be a glass or something…" Bobby shook his head. "Okay… do you want me to stay here with you?" Another head shake. Hmm… "Do you want me to… find Ryan and Sally for you?" Bobby nodded. "Okay, stay here, alright? I'm going to go find them."

I turned away when Bobby grabbed my hand. "Thank you…" he forced out.

"Oh, you're welcome," I replied automatically. I left the room and shut the door quietly. I glanced around the second floor. I had tried two doors, and there was a short hall next to the stairs that seemed to open out to another hall. I walked past the stairs and saw a door to the right and a staircase to the left. I checked the door and found it locked, so I walked up the stairs. Up there was a narrow hall with a door to the left and one at the end of the hall, both of which were locked.

"Where could they be…?" I muttered. Suddenly, I remembered the key I found under the desk. I pulled it out of my pocket and read the tag. "Floor one, huh…" Welp, since all the other doors were locked, it was time to find the library. I made my way down both of the stairs and headed to the hall on the right from the front door. First time's the charm, maybe? I put the key in the lock and turned it, hearing a satisfying *click*.

I opened the door and heard the sound of the floor board creaking quickly. I looked at my feet. Had I made that much noise from entering the room?

I looked around. There were tall, lumbering shelves all over the room, and there was a table covered in papers in the corner. There was an old book smell in the air, and I breathed it in, smiling slightly. I traced my hand along the spines of the books on the shelves in front of the door. Unfortunately, none of them had words on the spines, so none of the books attracted my interest.

I meandered over to the table, gazing up at the other book shelves. _I could spend all day in here,_ I thought. On the table were small stacks of papers, a single chair resting in front of one of the stacks. I sat in the chair and examined the papers in front of me. The papers at the top of the stack were written in a language I didn't recognize; some sort of curving lines connected like cursive, but not any letters I could read. I placed the papers I couldn't read on my right, continuing down the pile until I reached something new: a folder.

The folder looked like something you'd see in a school or office building; plain and light brown, with a few paper clips holding papers in place. I opened the folder and did a double take. On the very first paper was a picture of…

"Me?" I murmured in confusion. My picture was clipped to a page full of more scribbles, though these scribbles seemed more organized and arranged in a bullet list. I flipped through the papers in the folder, finding only more scribbles. "What does this mean…?" I asked aloud.

I finally closed the folder and put it on top of the pile I had made on my right. I stood up, about to leave the table to further explore the bookshelves, when I saw a key that had been under the folder. I picked it up, reading the tag attached to it: "Bedroom Key: Floor 3".

As I pocketed the key, I heard the floor boards creak heavily, as if something huge were walking next to me. _It must be one of the rogues,_ I thought, turning my head to the place I most expected a normal person's head to be. I saw… a pair of legs…?

They were bulky and muscular, and purple, almost blue. My mouth opened, but no sound could come out. My head slowly traced up the legs to the arms, ripped with muscles and with huge hands clenched in fists, up to a short, thick neck, up to a head as big as the body with a huge crooked nose, bulging eyes, and a strange smile on its lips.

I stared into the monster's eyes, unable to move. My mouth was still hanging open. The monster gazed down at me, its smile slowly spreading open, revealing dark gray fangs. Slowly, the fangs came apart, showing a gaping black hole for its gullet. I blinked.

In the second I blinked, the monster flew forward and smashed into the floor inches in front of me. If I had been any closer, it would have swallowed me whole.

I clamped my mouth shut and turned, running out of the library and holding the door shut with my body. Where could I go?! Where could I hide?!

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key I had gotten. Third floor. A possible place to hide. Just as I began to sprint to the stairs, the library door burst open and the monster came out, sliding like a baseball player on the wooden floor and galloping after me.

I climbed the stairs as quickly as I could, using the banister to help me turn down the hall on the second floor and again to propel myself up the third floor stairs. I could hear the heavy pounding of giant footsteps behind me.

I reached the door on the right of the third-floor hall and put the key in the door. At first, I struggled to get the key in the hole, my hands quaking from fear, but then I heard the loud click of an open door and I hurried in, holding the door shut with my body. I tried to see if I could lock the door from the inside, but there was no lock.

In the room were two beds, a large white carpet, and two dressers along the back wall. I dove under the bed closest to me and curled into a ball, my arms around my knees.

I heard the door slam open and I covered my mouth with one hand and clenched my eyes shut, praying, _Don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me-_ over and over. I could hear the monster's heavy breathing for one second. Two seconds. Four.

The door slammed open and shut again.

I turned my head as best as I could from my position under the bed, and could see no legs. The monster was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief, and passed out, a single tear tracing down my cheek.

* * *

Just saying, a lot of the chapters in this story might end with The Author passing out. Or they might not. I don't know yet.

Are you wondering why the story took place in a movie theater at the beginning? It came to me in a dream a few years ago, and I incorporated that into the story. That dream is also wear Sally came from. Ah, the mystery of dreams.

I'm not feeling in the best shape right now, guys. I mean, not health wise; I think I'm not doing too bad there, but I'm stressing out about Spring Semester already. It's not coming for another two or so weeks, but I'm not feeling good about it. My text book for one of my classes was really expensive and I need a URL code to open it (it's an online textbook), and I don't know the URL, so I emailed my teacher and she has yet to respond, and there's another class that I haven't ordered a book from yet, and I'm worried that the text books I _have_ ordered won't arrive on time, and I'm really just a mess. You wouldn't know it if you looked at me, but my feelings are all bottled up on the inside and I can't get away from it, no matter what I do to try to distract myself; even writing.

I'm sorry I went on such a rant. You don't need to hear my complaining, but I just wanted to write it down so I can really make sure I'm not forgetting something.

Never mind my problems, how about your problems? Leave me a review, tell me what you thought of the chapter, and I'll see you in the next chapter, whenever it comes. Tchuess!


	3. Acting All Alone

I'm baaaack~!

Spring Semester starts tomorrow, so don't expect another update any time soon. Also, this one is probably pretty boring. I swear, I try to make the "puzzle solving" parts of the story as interesting as possible, but it just doesn't work out all the time. Really, I'm sorry.

Also, another shout out to Starry's Light for reviewing again. Hey, if you're looking for good Ao Oni stories, might I recommend Mighty-wants-to-draw ? She's really good, especially her stories "The Mansion in the Woods" and "Rotten Love". She's the reason I got a fanfiction account in the first place. So, yeah. Just saying.

Now, onto the boring, not good chapter!

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Chapter 3: Acting All Alone

The world slowly faded back into existence. I nuzzled my head into the arm I was using as a pillow, wanting to get back into the cozy sleep I had been in. As I did so, I tried to remember what had gotten me into this sleep position. I had been exploring the library, when—

I jolted and hit my head on the underside of the bed. That… monster… I had seen it before, but from where?

The cozy feeling of sleep seeped away, and I looked out from under the bed. No purple legs. The monster was still gone.

I put my hands over my ears and clenched my eyes shut.

 _What am I going to do?_ I thought. _I don't want to see that monster again! It's going to eat me!_

 **Yes,** I thought back, **but if you stay under this bed forever, you'll die anyway.**

 _Better than getting eaten by a monster._

 **What about your family and friends?**

 _What about them?_

 **If you stay under the bed, you'll never see them again. Not the countries, not your family, not any one in the cult, not The Artist… just you, alone under a bed until the day you die, which at this rate will probably be only a few days.**

 _That_ is _a lot of people I would miss… But that monster—_

 **That's a chance you're going to have to take. You outran it once; you can do it again.**

 _That was luck—_

 **No, no it wasn't. Besides, if not for yourself, you should at least warn the others. Bobby is still in that closet. Maybe he was hiding from that monster. You should go be with him.**

 _…Okay. I'll go see him. That's probably for the best, anyway._

I unfurled myself so that I was laying on my stomach and looked out from under the bed. Still no legs. I crawled out as quickly as I could and jumped to my feet. No monster appeared.

"…Okay," I muttered to myself, "better check for anything useful before I go." I looked through the drawers and found them to be empty. The carpet didn't have anything useful under the corners I checked. Then, I checked under the other bed. At first, I thought it was too dark under the bed to see anything, but then I put my hand on the dark spot. Or tried to, anyway. My hand hovered through the dark area and felt nothing. It was a… hole?

I walked around to the other side of the bed. The floor boards between the bed and the wall were paler than the rest of the floor. I pulled the bed with surprising ease towards me and the wall, revealing a square hole. I peered into it. The room under this one had white floor boards, and I could see the corner of something black in the room. The ceiling was relatively low looking, so the fall didn't look that far…

"Might as well," I said. I sat on the edge of the hole and slowly lowered myself into the drop. I fell for a second before hitting the floor. My legs didn't seem to be broken; only a little sore.

I stood up straight and looked around the room. White walls and floor boards, a white set of drawers, two white book cases, and an ebony piano in the center of the room.

"Cool, I guess," I said. I stood in front of the piano. There was something dry and red covering a few of the keys. I didn't touch those ones, but my hand hovered over some of the other keys. I recalled how Devi had practically taught herself her favorite video game songs and would show them to me on our electric piano. I gingerly played the only song I knew: Mary Had a Little Lamb:

BAGABBBAAABBBBAGABBBBAAGAB

I had once known—at least partially known—Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and This Old Man, but not anymore. I closed my eyes and listened to the notes fade away into the air.

After the notes finally vanished, I opened my eyes and wandered around the room. I looked through the white dresser, which was empty, and examined one of the bookshelves. I pulled out a book at random, and the shelf moved to the left, revealing a small black safe. The safe had a picture of what looked like letters or numbers. Below that picture were four small dials with numbers leading from zero to nine.

"Hmm," I said aloud. "Those pictures look a bit like numbers…" I turned the dials to what the pictures looked like: a nine, a one, a six, and a… backwards nine? I tugged at the handle of the safe, but it didn't budge. "Whatever," I muttered in frustration, "I should find Bobby and the others…"

I turned away from the safe, gave the piano one last look, then turned the door handle. There was a click, and the door opened. I stepped outside and realized that the door I opened was the one net to the stairs leading up to the third floor.

"How convenient," I said. Right. Bobby!

I walked quickly to the door, pausing only to peer down the first-floor stairs. No sign of the monster…

I opened the door and gasped. The closet Bobby had been hiding in was open, and the only remaining evidence that he had been there was a piece of white cloth on the floor in front of the closet. I picked it up. It was a white handkerchief, with purple cursive stitching that read "Robert".

"I guess that's Bobby's real name," I murmured as I put the handkerchief in my pocket. I looked around the room. Now what?

My mind wandered back to the piano room, and the red paint-like stuff covering the keys. Maybe that would help, somehow? I hurried back to the piano room and rubbed the handkerchief on the keys, mashing them as I did so. A little bit of the stuff came off, but not enough to clean the keys thoroughly. Maybe water would work? The kitchen downstairs was the only place I remembered that had a sink, so I guessed that I ought to go there. Maybe I'd run into Bobby or the others… or the monster…

I took a deep breath and went down the first-floor stairs. I walked carefully, trying not to make much noise. I entered the kitchen and went to the sink. I turned both faucets, but neither yielded water. Hmm…

I exited the kitchen and walked slowly through the hall to the foyer. _Where to now?_ I thought. _The other doors were still locked… right? Maybe I should check again…_

I went to the hall on the other side of the foyer and saw that the glass door was open a few inches. I paused. Perhaps that's where the others were hiding? I opened the door all the way before closing it behind me. I was in what looked like a room for washing up; a literal bath room. On my right was a washing machine and a sink with a mirror. On my left was a bath tub filled with a dark liquid. Definitely not water.

I turned the handle on the sink, but no water came out. This was troublesome. If there was no clean water to be found in the house, we'd all be dying of thirst within a few days.

I looked at the bath tub. The liquid within was thick and dark. There was a chain trailing along the side of the tub, and I pulled it. There was a pop, like a cork coming out of a bottle, and the liquid vanished down the drain. At the bottom of the tub, oddly enough, was a screwdriver with a plus shaped point. I picked it up with the handkerchief and wiped the liquid off. "Oookay," I mumbled.

I walked out of the bathroom and opened the door at the end of the hallway. Inside was a cupboard and a sink, with a toilet in the back of the room. I turned the sink handle. Still no water. I opened the cupboard and found a bottle of soap. _Ooh,_ I thought, _soap. Clean._

I left the toilet room and checked the door at the back of the hallway; it was unlocked. I found myself in a short hall with a door on my left and more rooms on my right. The door on the left was locked, so I wandered to the rooms on the right.

There was an Asian styled room and another short hallway that ended at a dead end. I slowly walked into the Asian styled room. There were two sets of sliding doors at the back of the room. I opened the one on the left.

"A lighter?" I picked up the small silver box, pulling open the top part of it. I had never seen a real lighter before except in cartoons and movies, so I wasn't sure how to use it. I put the lighter in my coat pocket and checked the other sliding door. Nothing.

I looked down the empty, dead end hallway. Why would the people who built this house put a hall like this into the building?

Suddenly, I remembered the map I had found upstairs. I pulled it out of my pocket and flattened it. According to the map, there was another set of rooms in this hall way… but where?

I felt along the wall paper with one hand while holding the map in the other. I felt a dip in the wall somewhere in the center. I traced my hand along the dip; it went up and down for about six feet, across for about two feet, and back down again. Like a door…

I thumped my fist into the palm of my hand and put the map away, pulling the plate shard out of my pocket.* I carefully cut the wall paper along the dip and pulled the piece I cut away from the wall, revealing a door without a knob.

"Well, now what? I muttered. I walked away from the door, passing the Asian styled room… when I heard the sound of a door rolling along the track it was built on. I looked up and saw…

"AAH!" I cried, the monster stepping loudly through the sliding door. It smiled toothily at me before lunging. I scampered through the hall and into the foyer. Where could I go?! I thought of the bedroom I'd hidden in before, but with my luck, it would probably learn about that hiding place and find me. So where now?!

 _Bobby,_ I thought as I dashed up the stairs. Bobby had hidden in a closet… maybe I could hide where he had been? I opened the door to the room where Bobby had been and ran for the closet, closing the doors just in time to hear the sound of the room door slamming open.

Like before, I chanted in my head: _Don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me—_

I heard heavy footsteps pace slowly around the room, along with heavy breathing. After what felt like minutes of waiting, I heard the door slam shut. I waited another minute, hearing no breathing or steps. Finally, I opened the doors just a crack. I saw nothing beastly. It was gone.

I sighed, breathing a half-hearted laugh before closing the doors again. Maybe it would be a good idea to stay hidden, just a little longer.

* * *

* Putting your fist on the palm of your other hand is what people in anime tend to do when they understand something or get an idea. Peridot from Steven Universe does this when she learns why Garnet is so… Garnet, not to spoil anything.

* * *

I probably will be busy with school starting tomorrow. Mondays and Wednesdays are going to be completely booked for me, and I'm not really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can handle it like everyone believes I can. But we'll just have to see.

Yeah, this chapter was boring, I know. I think the next chapter—whenever it comes out—will involve actual character interaction, and thus be more entertaining. I'm thinking Ryan and Author interactions, maybe with a side of Sally and Author interactions. Like the game (Which is Ao Oni version 6, by the way), Bobby won't be seen for quite a while.

So, what did you think of this chapter? Too long, too boring, and so on? Leave a review and tell me what you thought. See you in the future… I hope.


	4. Acting Like Myself

Don't expect another update before the end of May. I have exams coming up and a twelve-page essay to write.

Also, shout out to Starry's Light for reviewing again. If I may toot my own horn a bit, your friend has good tastes in manga and fanfiction. Don't worry, I was also warry of including a female Vio Link, but I decided that the dress couldn't be avoided without making the story a little awkward, so female Vio Link it was.

More puzzle solving this chapter, but also some character interactions! Finally! I hope you enjoy it, because I sure liked writing it! See you at the bottom of the page!

* * *

Chapter 4: Acting Like Myself (Which isn't Always Good)

I'm not sure exactly how long I stayed in the closet, but after a while, I began to feel fidgety. I tapped my fingers against the wood back of the closet. I bounced one of my legs. Finally, I stretched as well as I could and peeked open the door. Still no monster.

 _Better late than never, I guess,_ I thought. I opened the door all the way and quickly jumped out. The monster still didn't appear.

I walked quietly over to the bed in the corner and emptied my pockets: a bottle of soap, a plus shaped screwdriver, Bobby's handkerchief, a plate shard, and a lighter. What could I do with these things that I couldn't do before? I pondered a moment, slowly gazing at the pretty cursive on Bobby's handkerchief, when I remembered the room with the piano. I put the items back in my coat pocket and slowly opened the door. Still no monster. I walked quickly and quietly down the short hall by the stairs and entered the piano room.

I stood in front of the keys and took out the soap. I squeezed it gently onto the red painted keys and mashed them with the handkerchief to wipe at the stuff. The red paint came off mostly, revealing scratches in the ivory keys that revealed blocky numbers: a six, a seven, and a nine.

 _What does_ this _mean?_ Is what I would have thought if I didn't feel someone breathing down my neck.

I yelped and dashed to the other side of the piano just as the monster slammed its fist down right where I had been standing. How did it get in there without me noticing?

The monster eyed me and made its way around to my side of the piano. I moved with it so that we remained on opposite sides of the instrument until my back was to the door to the room. I turned and ran out the door, and in a short, risky, but possibly brilliant moment of an idea, I slammed the door and pressed myself to the outside wall on the left of the door.

The door slammed open and the monster came out. Just as I had hoped, the monster didn't notice me and hurried down the hall and down the stairs. I listened to its heavy footsteps pound away. I didn't quite understand how it had missed me, but I was grateful for it.

I walked back into the piano room and examined the mostly clean keys. Six, seven, nine? I glanced at the safe in the corner of the room. The shapes above the lock looked a little like the piano keys. Was that it? _Too bad I don't have anything to draw with,_ I thought as I pulled out the map and flipped it to the blank side. A pencil or pen would have been real useful right then.

I stared at the symbols. _The second one looks like the key with seven on it,_ I thought. _The third one looks like the one with nine on it… and the two outer ones look like they're upside down? So that means…_

I clicked the number locks to read "6799". There was a click. Had I done it?

I turned the handle and opened the safe. "Yes!" I cried, then quickly covered my mouth, glancing at the door. The monster did not appear.

I quietly pumped my fist as I peered inside. There was another small, silver key. The tag tied to it read "Kid's Bedroom Key: Floor 2".

"Well, there's only one other door on this floor that I know of," I said aloud. I opened the door to the room carefully and peered down the hall. Convinced I was safe, I walked to the door on the far left of the stairs and unlocked it.

The bedroom was probably the smallest room I'd seen that wasn't a washroom or toilet. The bed was pushed into the corner on my left, there was a dresser in the back-left corner, and some tall bookcases in the back right corner of the room. There was also a chair, for some reason, which was close enough to the door that I pushed it inwards when I opened the door. I made my way to the dresser when—

WHUMP!

I jumped and pressed my body against the door. Had the monster finally found me again?

"Author?" A voice in the room whispered.

I looked around wildly. "…Sally?" I said quietly. The bed shifted slightly, and Sally crawled out from under it. I sighed and moved away from the door.

"How did you get in here?" We asked at the same time.

"Uh, you can go first," I said automatically.

Sally stood up, pushed past me, and positioned the chair under the doorknob. Then, she set her hands on her hips and glared at me. "Ryan, Bobby, and I were waiting for you to come back when this hideous… _thing_ showed up. We got separated."

"Well, at least I know it wasn't a prank now," I said. "Something strange is going on…"

" _No… really_?" Sally snapped. I put my hands up defensively. No telling what a rogue like her would do.

"A rogue? When are you from, the eighteenth century?" Had I said that out loud? Oops.

"Sorry," I mumbled, putting my hands together. "When I saw you all at the theater, I thought you were…"

"Gangsters? Criminals?"

"…Yeah… I shouldn't have assumed, but—"

"I honestly don't care," Sally interrupted. "When we saw you, we thought you were some loser who needed to date older men for money."

"How… did you come to _that_ conclusion?"

"How did you come to yours? Appearances?"

"…Maybe. I see your point now."

"I sure hope so," Sally crossed her arms. It was quiet for a second. "Do you know where everyone is?" She finally asked.

I shook my head. "I saw Bobby a bit ago, but he disappeared when I went looking for him. I haven't seen Ryan, either."

Sally nodded, gazing at a corner of the room. "Ryan…" she whispered.

I held out my hand. "We could look for them together," I suggested.

Sally whipped her head to face me. "What? No way! I'm not going out there with that monster on the loose!"

"But wouldn't it be better to not split up?"

"Like I'd trust my life with you!"

"…Fair point," I muttered. "Okay, fine. You can stay in here, and I'll come back if I find Bobby or Ryan. Okay?"

"Yeah," Sally nodded.

"Any idea if there's anything useful in here?"

"Just this, I guess." She pulled out a small bottle from under the bed and gave it to me.

"What's this?" I looked at the label in confusion.

"Light fluid. I'd have kept it for myself, but I didn't get to keep my lighter when we appeared in this place. Lost my awesome clothes, too. Now I look like Mother Teresa."

"I think you look cute…" I mumbled.

" _What?_ "

"N-nothing." I suddenly remembered the lighter I had found in the Asian room and pulled it out of my pocket. I looked between the bottle and the lighter, then at Sally. "How does this work?"

Sally nabbed both items from my hands. She opened the lighter and clicked it a few times, a spark appearing with each click. Then she pulled the lighter mechanism out of the box and held it upside down, pulling up a small flap on the bottom. She opened the bottle of fluid and poured it into the bottom, emptying the whole container. Then she closed the bottom, put the mechanism back into the box, and clicked the switch. On the second click, a small fire appeared. She turned off the flame and handed the lighter back to me.

"Speaking of lighters, I don't suppose you have any cigarettes on you?"

I shook my head frantically. "Smoking is bad for you!"

Sally rolled her eyes. "Of all the things that could kill me right now, cigarettes are the least of my worries."

"I mean, I guess you're not _wrong_ …" I pocketed the lighter. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Sally nodded.

"…Okay. Don't leave this room, alright?"

"Just go already!"

"Alright, alright. Goodbye." I moved the chair and closed the door behind me. I heard the chair scrape the floor from inside the room. Now what? "Well, there's only one room I can think of that I haven't been to yet…"

I made my way up the stairs to the third floor. I opened the door at the back of the short hallway, revealing a huge room. There was a desk in the right bottom corner with a chair, a white dresser in the top right corner, a closet in the top left corner, and a door at the very back of the room. And standing in front of the door, hands on his hips and facing away from me was—

"Ryan!" I cried.

Ryan jumped and whirled to face me. "You!"

"Me," I replied. "Are you okay?"

"I guess… I mean, of course I am!" He crossed his arms. "Takes more than some ugly monster to scare me!"

"If you say so. I know _I_ was scared."

"Well yeah, but you're _you_. I expected you to be a little cry baby about it."

"No need to go _that_ far," I grumbled. Then I shook my head and looked at Ryan's mouth, not feeling up to looking him in the eye. "Sally was looking for you."

I watched the corner of his mouth twitch, to smile in relief or what, I didn't know. "…She's okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "She's in the bedroom down stairs. I said I'd bring you and Bobby to her when I—"

There was a sudden bang, and Ryan and I jumped, turning to the door I had forgotten to close behind me. There was another bang, and another. The top of a large, purple head appeared at the top of the stairs.

Thinking quickly, I pushed past Ryan and grabbed the knob of the door Ryan had stood in front of. "In here!" I opened the door.

"Wait, Author, that door is—!"

I opened the door wide and ran head first into a wall. Stars flew into my eyes.

Ryan shouted and the monster appeared outside the only exit. I whipped around, still dizzy, flinging my free hand wildly in the monster's direction. I felt a tug in my stomach, and a mass of green stars seemed to fly from my hand and towards the monster, though it may have been the head injury. The green energy hit the monster in the face and it fell back down the stairs, its roar mixing with the blood rushing through my ears.

"What… was that?!" I heard Ryan say. My hand slipped from the door knob I grabbed and I fell backwards, sliding to the floor in a heap.

* * *

So, not quite passing out, but definitely down for the count, for the time being. Aren't I improving?

I had to look up a video on how to fill lighters, which is why the scene with Sally and the lighter fluid is so specific. The Author will have to know for a later time, when she's alone, so it's best for her to know how to fill lighters ahead of time. The more you know.

I really liked how this came out, so please tell me what you thought of it! I'll see you again after exams, hopefully. Until then!


	5. Acting Dumb

*The Reader glances through their email, not a care in the world, when suddenly-*

I'm BaaaAAAAaaaack! Hooray and all that.

I wrote this all today, and I had my little sister The Deviant do a little pre-read. She seemed to like it, so I hope you will, too.

So. How's my update schedule looking? I probably won't write anything tomorrow, but I'll be focusing on this and I'm a Member of the PTA during the summer when I have time. Check that out if you're interested.

Also, this story is based on the Let's Play by Markiplier. Check him out, too, if you like. See you at the bottom of the page.

* * *

Chapter 5: Acting Dumb

"…thor! Author! Come on, wake up!" I moaned and rolled onto my side. "Author! Please, don't leave me here…" I forced my eyes open and looked to the ceiling. Ryan's head was hovering over me, an unusual look of worry on his face.

"…What did you say?" I mumbled, blinking the stars out of my eyes.

"N… nothing! I just wanted you to stop lying around!" I rolled onto my stomach and pushed myself up to my knees. I looked around slowly. We were still in the big bedroom, sitting in front of the fake door, which was open to reveal the blank white wall.

"Whose big idea was it to put a fake door in here?" I grumbled. I rubbed my forehead and winced. "What happened?"

Ryan huffed and crossed his arms. "That monster was coming up the stairs, and you tried to go through the door. Don't give me that look, you're not concussed… probably. Then you waved your hand and this green stuff came out. It hit the monster and it fell down the stairs. I checked on it while you were out of it, and it, like… melted into a puddle before disappearing? What's going on?! Why did that happen?! How…?!"

As he rambled, I put a hand to my chin and gazed at a spot on the floor. _Green again?_ I thought. _And I remember a familiar tugging feeling in my gut after I ran into the wall. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. There was the battle at the mansion when I pulled that bullet out of Arty's stomach, then when I was in that alternate dimension with the countries… What does this mean? Was this what Brittany had been talking about when she said she wanted to test me? I don't understand…_

"Author, are you listening?"

I blinked and looked up. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Ryan rolled his eyes and glared at me. "I was _saying_ that I want an explanation for what's been going on. What do you have to do with this whole 'being trapped in a movie' thing? What was that green stuff? What happened to our hang out?"

"I don't know what I have to do with—wait, hang out?"

Ryan nodded. "There was an empty lot that was our gang's hangout spot. It's our dump, and we'd hang out there with our friends. Today, Sally, Bobby and I went there to chill and smoke, but that movie theater place was there instead. No construction, it just appeared out of nowhere. The dump was there yesterday, but now…"

I rubbed my chin. "Something odd is going on."

" _No… really?_ " Ryan snapped. "And you still haven't answered my questions."

"I swear, I don't know what's happening. All I know is that we need to get out of this mansion. Once we're out, we can work together to find out what all this means. Oh, speaking of why I came in here…" I stood slowly and pulled the plus shaped screwdriver out of my pocket. I closed the door and examined the knob. There were two plus shaped marks where the knob was attached to the door. I put the screwdriver to the first mark and twisted. The screwdriver slipped out of the hole. I tried again. And again. And—

Ryan nabbed the screwdriver from my hand, grumbling to himself, and unscrewed the door knob. "What do you need this for?" He asked as he handed me the knob and the screwdriver.

"There was a door without a knob, and… yeah." I glanced around the room, stopping at the chair at the desk in the corner. I snapped my fingers. "I know!"

"Know what?" Ryan asked. I hurried to the chair and picked it up, Ryan close behind me. I lifted the chair over my head and hit it against the floor as hard as I could. The chair made a light tapping sound against the wood. Ryan blinked at me. "You're kind of useless, you know that, right?"

I made a face at him. "Just help me break the legs off this chair, okay?"

Ryan took the chair from me and kicked the legs off.

"Such strength," I said.

"You kind of have to have some to get by in this world. What do you want the legs for?"

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the plate shard. "How's your wood carving?"

"Better than yours, probably."

I handed the shard to him. "Please file one of the ends of each leg to a point. If we're going to stay here for a while, we'll need weapons."

Ryan nodded as he began to scrape the shard against the wood. I fiddled with the door knob for a bit, not looking Ryan in the face. We sat in silence for a few minutes. As Ryan was finishing the last leg, I decided to ask: "So, you mentioned a gang?"

Ryan shrugged. "I say 'gang', but we don't really do anything illegal except skip school and buy cigarettes. There's about ten of us. I'm the oldest and most experienced with the world, so I'm technically in charge. Sally is my girl, and Bobby's like my right-hand man. We're all loyal to each other, especially Bobby. Our group is practically his whole life. The dump is our main hang out spot, and we just talk about whatever."

"Sounds nice," I said. "I only have a few friends, but that's all I need."

"You do you," Ryan replied, finishing the last leg. I took one of them and the plate shard from him, sticking them in my pocket. "Okay, you take one for Bobby, and I'll take the other two for me and Sally," he said.

I nodded and took the last leg, gripping it uneasily in my hand. "Should we stick together?" I asked.

"No, I think we'll cover more ground while apart. Where's Sally?"

"In the room on the far left of the second-floor stairs. What should I do while you're with Sally?"

"You mentioned needing that door knob for something, right? Go do that. We can meet back in the room Sally's in and figure out what to do from there."

I sighed in relief, knowing that we all wouldn't be separate for long. "I wonder if Bobby's okay," I said quietly.

"Bobby's real strong, probably the strongest guy I know. He'll be okay on his own, even if he's a bit of a scaredy-cat."

"Okay," I nodded. We walked together down to the second floor. There was no sign of the monster. Had I killed it somehow, with this mysterious green magic of mine? I kind of hoped so.

We silently split up, Ryan knocking on the door to the kid's bedroom as I went down the stairs. I headed through the door in the back of the foyer, and hurried past the Asian room, looking wearily at the sliding doors in case the monster popped up. I reached the door without a knob and took out the knob and the screwdriver. After a minute of struggling to get the knob attached the door, the deed was done. I opened the door and saw nothing but pitch blackness. The light from the hall barely lit up the room within. This wasn't good.

I stood outside the doorway, wondering what I should do, when I remembered the lighter. I pulled it out of my pocket and clicked the switch. It lit up on the first click. I held it carefully in front of me and walked into the room. The combined fire light and the light from outside showed me a candle sitting on a table in the middle of the room. I lit the candle. The combined light of the candle, lighter, and outside door made the room much more visible. There was a desk with a chair near the front, a bookshelf in the back-left corner, and a bed in the back right corner of the room. I pulled out the first book that stood out to me on the shelf, and the whole shelf moved to the right, revealing a door. I opened the door, and the light of the room beyond lit up the dark room even more.

The new room was empty, save for a row of iron bars, forming a cell for the back half of the room. There was something shiny in the "cell". I turned off the lighter and slowly entered the cell. Something about this felt really, _really_ familiar. On a whim, I closed the cell door and picked up the shiny thing. It was a key. Another tag was tied to it, reading: "Basement Key: Floor 1". I pocketed the key, and—

BANG!

I jumped as the monster appeared, slamming into the cell door as if it hadn't expected the door to be there. I let out a terrified noise when the monster looked at me through the bars. It inched as close to the bars as it could. It grabbed a bar with each hand and shook them, and I thought for a moment that the cell wall would give way. Just before they did, the monster stopped shaking the bars. It looked at me for one second. Two seconds. Five. Finally, it turned around and exited out both doors and out of sight.

I stood there for a few minutes, not sure what to do with myself. I rubbed the key between my hands and stared out the doorways. Was it safe? Could I leave?

Slowly, I opened the cell door, and hurried out of both rooms to the hallway. The monster seemed to have lost interest in me. For now…

I looked at the tag on the key. The only locked door on the first floor I knew of was the one in the hall I was in. I walked past the Asian room and unlocked the door—

"AAAAAAAH!"

I jumped. That scream sounded feminine. "Sally?!" I cried. I turned away from the door and ran up the stairs and into the kid's bedroom. I stopped dead in my tracks.

The monster was kneeling on the floor, reaching over something and making a gross, gurgling noise. I gasped, and the monster turned its head. The eye I could see seemed to light up when it spotted me. I turned away from the monster and booked it to the next-door room with the closet Bobby had been hiding in. I jumped into the closet and shut the doors. A second later, the door to the room slammed open.

Like a mantra, I repeated in my mind: _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me-_

The door slammed shut. There was no breathing. I slowly opened the closet door. The monster didn't appear.

I hurried to the kid's room and made a sound that was a mix of a gasp and a sob. Lying on the floor, covered in blood, was Sally. She was holding a sharpened stick in what was left of her hand.

I took a few shaky steps towards her mangled body before falling to my knees and covering my face with my hands. Through my shaky sobs, I noticed that the room was in tatters. The bed was flipped over and thrown against the opposite wall. The book shelves and dressers had their respective books and drawers yanked out and scattered on the floor. And Sally…

Her pretty brown eyes and pink mouth were wide open, as if she had died mid-scream. He curly blonde hair was torn at the roots, leaving bloody patches on her scalp. She was lying on her stomach; her back being torn open and revealing her spine.

I sobbed, an ugly sound for an ugly death. I must have knelt there for several minutes, maybe even a half-hour, before I ran out of tears. I lifted my head slowly, letting out a final quiet, dry wail, before I forced myself to my feet. I stumbled over to the tossed bed and removed one of the white sheets, gently laying it over the exquisite corpse. Even in death, she seemed elegant and classy. Once the body was covered, I put my hands together and said a prayer for this girl I'd only known for a few hours. I looked at the white sheet one more time (it was slowly turning red in patches), and slowly walked down to the basement door.

* * *

Wa-waaaah.

Poor Author, having to see death close hand like that. It only goes downhill from here.

So, what did you think of this chapter? I like how there's a pretty good balance of puzzle solving and character interaction (though mostly interaction, haha). Did you like the description of Sally's body? I sure hope so. Also, fun fact, an exquisite corpse poem is a poem made up of randomly combined nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Look it up if you want to learn more. Anyway, leave a review, tell me what you thought, and I'll see you next chapter. Until then!


	6. Acting as Helpful as Possible

Look who's baaaa-aaaaack! It's-a-me! The Author!

So hey I'm back. Yay. I wasn't sure where to stop for this chapter, but I think you'll like where it ends today. I thought about letting my sister The Vet pre-read this chapter, but she was busy. So you get to read it right now!

I hope you like it… I had a lot of fun with this chapter! See you at the bottom of the page.

* * *

Chapter 6: Acting as Helpful as Possible

My tears were mostly dried by the time I opened the basement door.

The basement itself was mostly gray concrete, and it had empty bookshelves lined up along the walls and in the middle of the room. I noticed something shiny out of the corner of my eye on top of one of the nearer shelves. I would need something to help me reach it.

As I slowly made my way past the bookshelves, I saw a door to my left and right. I placed my hand on the further most bookshelf absently, and it moved to the left, revealing a gray panel with screws holding it in place. I looked at the plus shaped screwdriver in my pocket, but these two things didn't seem like they would work together, so I walked to the left door first.

It was a very small room, with a desk and chair in front of me, a bookshelf that also had something shiny on top, and a set of drawers to my right. I pulled the chair away from the desk and propped it against the bookshelf. I reached for the shiny thing on top. It was a screwdriver with a minus shaped point. My dad would probably know the proper name for it.

I gazed silently at the screwdriver in my hand for a moment when another feeling of déjà vu swept over me. On the whim it gave me, I opened the door and dragged the chair out of the room. I pushed it to the front of the room and stood on it, reaching for the key on top. It was the same as the other keys before it, with a tag reading: "Basement Jail Cell Key: Floor B".

"Well, there's only one door here left to check," I whispered quietly, not quite up to being chipper about my situation. I stepped off of the chair, and—

I did a double take. Standing by the middle bookshelves, looking around the room slowly, was—

"Sally!" I cried, running up and hugging her despite my better judgement of personal space. "You're alive! How?! I saw your body, and—how are you alive?!"

"Author, is that you? I—AAAAAAAH!" She screamed.

I jumped and turned around, expecting to see the monster. No one was there.

"Author, is that you? I—AAAAAAH!"

I turned around to look at Sally. "What are you screaming at?" I asked.

"Author, is that you? I—AAAAAH." Her voice was becoming monotone. I looked Sally in the eyes. They seemed to be glazed over, and black instead of brown. Her skin was turning gray.

"Sally-?"

"Author, is that you? I—AAAH."

 _CRACK!_

Her nose snapped to the side, and her lips formed a slight but familiar smile. I could hear a strange tearing and creaking sound at the same time. She was getting taller.

 **"Author, is that you? I—AAH."** Her voice was changing. Her clothes were tearing. Her skin was turning purple.

I stepped back one step. Two steps.

After what felt like minutes of watching this transformation, a monster stood in the girl's place. The only evidence it had been anything else were the shiny blonde curls trailing down the beast's back. A tear traced down my cheek. I turned and ran.

The Sally-turned-monster followed me up the second and third floor stairs and into the bedroom I had first hid in. I dove under the bed and chanted to myself: _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me_ —

The door slammed open, and after about a minute, the door slammed shut. I could still hear the breathing, though. I remained in my place, the only thing to comfort me being my chant. Finally, the door slammed open and shut again. There was no more breathing.

I curled into a ball and let the tears flow. Sally was gone; for real this time. Was there something I could do? Could she change back?

After a few minutes, I wiped the face liquid away and stood slowly. I walked quietly back into the basement and took out the jail cell key. Time to keep going.

I opened the right-side door of the basement and entered a small room with a closet in the back corner, a door in the middle, a white carpet, a dresser close to me, and a door on the opposite side of the room.

I opened the door in the middle of the room and found a short hall that had some steps leading up to the door. This door was locked.

I backtracked and opened the far door I hadn't been in yet. The room beyond was dark. I pulled out the lighter and clicked it. It lit up on the second click. I walked slowly and quietly, feeling along the wall and using the light of the previous room to guide me to the row of bars along the side of the room. I reached a cell door and unlocked it with the key I had found. In the cell, I found a candle on a table and lit it, which brightened the room even more. I closed the cell door behind me, just in case.

In the back corner of the cell, there were some blue scribbles on the wall. One side looked like a strange series of symbols, and the other side looked like a person with lines through him. Hmm…

I warily opened the cell door and walked to the outer side of the cell. When looked at a certain way, the picture of the person looked like they were staring through the bars. I looked at the strange symbols and saw the numbers: 5376.

 _Gee, it'd be_ really _useful to have something to write this down with,_ I thought.

I walked back into the room with the bookshelves and reached into my pocket to pull out the minus shaped screwdriver. I unscrewed the nails and the panel fell off the wall with a clang, revealing a safe in the wall. I cringed and looked behind me. No monsters showed up. I clicked the numbers to 5376 and pulled on the handle. The safe opened, revealing another key with a tag tied to it reading "Annex Key: Floor B". I pocketed it and made my way to the room with the closet in it.

I sighed. _Hopefully, the annex will have an exit I can use,_ I thought as I turned the locked door handle. Wait. Locked?

 _CRACK-CHOOM!_

The closet burst into pieces, revealing the Sally Monster. I screamed and covered my head from the splinters before hightailing it out of the room. The monster chased me up the basement and into the kitchen. I dove under the table and curled into a ball, continuing my silent chant of _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me-_

The kitchen door slammed open and I saw the monster's legs walk slowly towards the table. I clenched my eyes shut and chanted harder.

After listening to the breathing, the monster slammed the door open and shut. There was no more breathing.

I sighed in relief and unfurled myself. I crawled out from under the table, walked back to the basement, and unlocked the door to the annex.

The annex was dark and damp smelling. The dark wood boards had some holes in them and looked like it could break under my weight. I could hear the sound of rain pattering on the roof.

Trying to see a little better, I pulled out the lighter and clicked it a few times. It didn't light. _Uh-oh,_ I thought.

There was a set of stairs ahead and to the left, a thin hallway to the right, a wider hall in the center of the room, and a door to the left. I peeked into the room on the left, but it was far too dark to see inside. I walked up the stairs quietly and opened the door on my immediate left.

The room beyond was somehow even dimmer than the whole annex, with a single lightbulb in a lamp lighting the room. I stumbled a bit, the déjà vu feeling making me dizzy. I unscrewed the lightbulb and put it carefully in my pocket. I hurried out of the room before I was completely swallowed by the darkness and entered the room across the way.

There was a long, narrow table with a white cloth and fancy looking chairs and utensils respectively on or next to it. There was an empty fireplace in the room. _If I can find more lighter fluid, I could light the fireplace and at least warm up the room. Maybe I'll set this place on fire and jump out of a burning wall into the rain. That'd be neat._

I exited the fireplace room and went up the next flight of stairs. Lightning flashed outside the tiny windows on the wall, loud thunder coming soon after. I gazed out of the window for a second. It was too dark outside to see anything clearly.

I went into the only remaining room on the top floor and saw a box in the corner and a white sheet of paper stuck on the wall. In the light from the next lightning crash, I saw something shiny in the other corner of the room, but there was a hole in the floor that was too wide to jump. I pushed the wooden crate around the room and into the hole, which seemed to only go down two feet. I walked over the box and grabbed the small bottle.

I put the bottle as close to my face as possible to see the writing: "Flaming Joe's Lighter Fluid! It's the Fluid that Lights Up Your Life!"

"Oh, how convenient," I said aloud. I leaned against the wall and took out the lighter. How had Sally done this again?

Trying to remember, I pulled out the lighter mechanism and turned it upside down, pulling on the flap on the bottom. I opened the lighter fluid bottle and poured it carefully into the flap, emptying the bottle. I closed the flap and stuck the mechanism into the box. I clicked it once, and the flame turned on. I nodded and closed the lighter. Maybe now I could figure out what was in that dark room.

I hurried down the stairs and into the dark room. I could just make out the outline of a candle on the table, and lit it up—

"AAAH!" I jumped and nearly dropped the lighter. I whipped around and saw…

"Bobby!" I cried. I stopped and gave him a wary look. "You didn't turn into a monster like Sally did, did you?"

"SALLY TURNED INTO A MONSTER!?" Bobby yelled. I shushed him. "Oh…. oh, _no…_ "

"It's okay," I said automatically. "I mean, it's not, but you know what I mean." Bobby began to breathe heavily. I took hold of his shoulders and looked him in the face; a bold and risky move. "We need to get out of here, Bobby. Stick with me, and—"

"NO!" Bobby yelled again. "You said you would bring them to me when you found them!"

"I tried, Bobby, but by the time I found them, you were already missing, and—"

"I don't want to hear excuses! That's the last thing I need right now!"

"Bobby, please—"

"No! I need Ryan and Sally! I need-!"

"ROBERT!" I yelled.

Bobby stared at me. I still had my hands on his shoulders. "…Who told you that was my name?"

I took my hands off his shoulders and reached into my coat pocket to get his handkerchief. "Sorry, I got some paint on it… I think it's paint, anyway." I handed it to him.

Bobby stared at the handkerchief, rubbing his thumb along the cursive writing. "Tatiana…"

I leaned closer. "I'm sorry?"

"Tatiana… my girl… she made this for me for our first date anniversary. I'm never going to see her again… and it's all my fault!"

"It's not your fault, Bobby. None of us could have known we'd get trapped in a movie or whatever's happened," I said as gently as I could.

"No, it _is_ my fault! When we went to hang out at our dump, that movie theater was there instead. Ryan and Sally thought we should stay away, but I said we should go in. It was all ME!" Bobby buried his face in his handkerchief and whimpered, "now Sally's dead and Ryan is probably dead, too! It's all my fault!"

"Bobby…" I didn't know what else to say. There was only the sound of rain for a few seconds.

"…I know what I need to do," Bobby finally said.

"What?" I asked.

"I need to pay for what I did to Sally and Ryan."

…Uh-oh.

"…What does that mean?" I asked.

Bobby turned around and ran out of the room. "Bobby, wait!" I cried, but he was already gone.

* * *

Poor Bobby… of course, if you've played the game or have seen a let's play, you know how it ends for him. That'll be fun to write.

So, you might have noticed that the monsters can't seem to find The Author, especially when she does her chant. There _is_ a reason for that, but that won't come until the end of this story, maybe not even until the end of the last book. Have fun speculating!

Did you like this chapter? I sure hope you did. I loved writing the transformation sequence; I've had my mind on that for a long time. Tell me what you thought in a review, and I'll see you all later. Until then!


	7. Acting Reasonable in such a Situation

Look who's here! It's me, Yours The Author, coming to you today with a new chapter for this story! I hope you enjoy it. It took the better part of today to write, but I think it's not too shabby. I'll see you at the bottom of the page.

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Chapter 7: Acting Reasonable in Such a Situation

I gazed out the way Bobby had run for a few minutes before shaking my head. Hopefully, he hadn't gone too far and I would find him again soon, preferably before he did what I think he wanted to do. I looked around the dimly lit room for a second before the shining reflection of something blue caught my eye. It was the eye of a bust on a wooden pedestal.

I've always had a soft spot for shiny and deeply colored things. This blue round stone was no exception. I picked at the stone with my fingers for a moment before pulling out the minus shaped screwdriver and trying to get the stone out that way. After a minute of focused picking, the stone popped out of the bust and onto the floor. Luckily, the light of the candle showed me where it had landed. I picked it up and admired it for a second before sticking it in my pocket. Who knew? Maybe it would be important.

I walked out of the room and down the wide middle hall. I entered the room on the right side. It was more brightly lit than the rest of the annex, with a small white carpet in the middle of the room, a desk with two mannequin-esque dolls on it, and a light switch next to the door. One of the dolls had two empty holes for eyes, while the other had two round gray stones and one of the arms sticking up. They were both screwed onto the desk. Making a connection, I stuck the blue jewel into one of the empty eye sockets. It fit perfectly.

As I left the room, I was still thinking about Bobby. The noose I found in the left room in the hall did not make me feel better.

The room on the opposite side of the hall was nearly identical to the first room, with a light switch and three dolls on a desk. In this room, though, there was a chair in the corner and a picture of a similar doll with the head in the bottom right corner of the picture and a head shaped hole in the top middle section, with the rest of the body split into sections, like a sliding puzzle. And the noose. There was also that.

After glancing at the sliding puzzle, I deemed it impossible to solve. The puzzle wasn't a perfect square, making the way to stick the head into the head-shaped hole not possible. I left the puzzle where it was and examined the dolls on the desk. Two of them had gray stone eyes and were screwed to the desk. The third one had only one red eye and wasn't screwed down.

I took this doll and examined it further. The red eye was familiar, like that blue stone I had found and put into the other doll. I took out my screwdriver and prodded at the red eye. It didn't budge.

 _Hmm,_ I thought. _This doll is made of wood… Could I burn it? My lighter probably wouldn't work, so where…?_ I pondered for a moment… then snapped my fingers. The fireplace room!

I looked at the noose one last time before exiting and heading up to the second floor of the annex. I entered the fire place room and pulled out the lighter—

BAM!

I jumped backwards and let out a yelp as the original monster popped its head out of the fire place like a jack in the box and crawled out into the open. I scampered out of the room with the monster on my tail, running down the stairs and into the room I had found Bobby in. I ran to the closet in the corner and jumped in, closing the doors and continuing my now commonplace chant of _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me—_

The door didn't slam open, nor did it slam shut. The monster must have somehow lost me on the way down the stairs. How, I didn't know, but that seemed to be the case.

I peeked out of the closet and saw no monsters in the candle light. I exited the room and hurried up the stairs.

Clicking the lighter, I lit a small fire in the fireplace and gently tossed the doll with the red eye into it. After a minute of watching the doll burn, the red stone popped out and rolled up to my shoe. I picked it up with my scarf so as not to burn myself and put in my pocket, feeling the warm spot on my side.

I hurried quietly down the stairs so that I didn't attract any unwanted attention. I entered the right room in the wide hallway and stuck the cooled down red stone into the doll's other eye. The head came loose, and I turned it like a screw. The head came loose, revealing the screw shaped hole of a neck. I picked the head up. Perhaps I could put it in that hole in the sliding puzzle?

I noticed that the screw hole in the doll looked similar to the screw part of the lightbulb I had found, so I screwed in the bulb. It lit up. I'd check out the use of this new light later. The puzzle awaited.

I walked slowly across the hall to the puzzle room. I put my hand on the handle, and—

 _…creak…creak…_

The sound of a rope tied taught and swaying.

Oh, _no._

I opened the door.

.

.

.

" _NOOOOOO!"_ I wailed. I fell to my knees and covered my face.

Bobby was hanging limply by his neck, facing away from me. A chair was knocked over next to him. The rope creaked with his weight.

I sobbed even harder when the rope snapped and he fell to the floor, a slight cracking sound that must have been his bones breaking mixing with the blood rushing through my ears.

I cried for what felt simultaneously like hours and mere minutes. I pondered for a moment if I should join him.

I looked at the body, letting out a dry sob, but then I saw something crumpled in his hand. I slowly crawled towards him and took it from his literal death grip. It was his handkerchief.

I felt the cursive under my thumb. Tatiana, wasn't it? She would never get to see her boyfriend again. If Bobby couldn't come to her, shouldn't she at least get to know why?

I pocketed the handkerchief and stood. I gazed sadly at the body before turning my attention to the puzzle. The head of the doll fit perfectly, and the puzzle fell off the wall, revealing a safe with three slots for numbers on it. I'd have to look for a code.

I closed the door behind me and stood a few paces away from it. Where could I find a code? I didn't have to worry about that for long, because a monster appeared.

"AAH!" I cried as a monster with short blonde hair slammed open the door of the room I was just in. The remains of a rope slipped off of its neck. I stumbled back and reached into my pocket. The monster reached a huge hand towards me. I found the wooden end of a stick and pulled out the stake Ryan had carved.

I swung it wildly and the pointed end sliced at the monster's fingers. It pulled back and roared, but I was already booking it to the closet in the room I had last met Bobby in. I hopped into the closet and closed the door just as the room door slammed open. I repeated my mantra until the door slammed shut and the sound of breathing and footsteps faded away.

I sniffled and wiped my nose with my scarf. It was time to move on. Where could I find a code?

I opened the closet door and went slowly up to the third floor. The paper on the wall now had a set of numbers on it: 361.

I hurried back down and entered the puzzle room, entering the code into the safe and opening it. There was another key with a tag reading: "Basement Key: Floor B".

 _There's another basement?_ I thought as I pocketed the key. I looked at the knocked over chair once more before I went to the short hall on the right of the annex entrance I hadn't entered yet.

Things seemed like they'd get better. But then I stepped on a weak spot of the floor and fell to the ground below.

Somehow, it didn't seem that I had broken any bones. I was just sore. I stared up at the hole I had fallen through for a few minutes before getting to my feet. I unlocked the door to the second basement. Now it was _really_ time to move on.

* * *

Poor Author. She just never catches a break, does she?

So. How was the scene with Bobby? Did it seem believable? I sure hope so. I feel like it was a little rushed or a little slowed in some parts, but I hope you liked it, anyway.

Please, leave me a review (please), tell me what you thought (p), and I'll see you all in a few days, hopefully. Until then!


	8. Acting Smart

Gooood afternoon, everyone! Yours The Author here, bringing this chapter of "The Author, The Rogues, and The Oni"! It's a bit of a long one, so I hope you like it. See you at the bottom of the page.

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Chapter 8: Acting Smart

The room was dark. What else was new?

I pulled out my lighter and clicked it twice to light it up. The floor was dark gray concrete and had white walls, like the basement before it. I wandered around in the darkness for a few minutes, keeping one hand along one of the walls. The air was cold and heavy, like breath in winter.

My hand hit a door, and I opened it, revealing another dark room. I felt along this wall as well, reaching an empty pair of bookshelves. I pushed on one of them, moving it to the side to reveal another door. This one was locked.

I continued to feel along the wall, all the way to the other side of the room from the first locked door and reached another one. I held the lighter up to it and saw the colors red, green, white, and blue, in that order on the door. Next to it was a code panel with the numbers nine through zero on it. I decided to wait until I could figure out if the lights could turn on before I meddled with this door.

I exited that room and felt along the first hallway wall until I reached another doorway. The next room was also dark, and I felt the wall until I reached a potted plant. I nudged it and found a large, industrial switch on the wall. I pulled it up.

CHOOM!

The lights flashed on, and I blinked in the brightness. The room I was in had a dark gray carpet and a bookshelf in one of the corners. Once I got used to the light, I examined the shelf, which only had one book on it. I opened it.

On the front page was a picture of a familiar monster, gray and with a long, thin neck. The Oni from the mansion I had fought with the cult in. Wait… Oni…?

That word seemed to click in my mind for just a second, and I reached for it in my mind's eye, but just as quickly as the connection was made, it slipped away. It had something to do with the mansion I was in now…

I shook my head and examined the picture book again. The previously mentioned Oni was drawn shoddily inside a house, probably representing that mansion.

I flipped to the next page and saw the monster's mansion being attacked by a swarm of stick people. The only thing besides the Oni and the mansion that could be seen clearly was a picture of a girl with a curl sprouting from the top middle of her head and a curl on the left side of her head, seemingly floating, unattached. Clearly, this was supposed to be—

"Me…" I whispered. My mind was begging for answers. But where could I find those answers? The only logical option seemed to be to escape this mansion, somehow.

I flipped to the last page and a book mark slipped out. It had blotches of red, green, white, and blue on it. It reminded me of the door I had seen in the dark. I exited into the now lit up hallway and went to the first room I had opened. I went to the door with the colors on it and examined the book mark. One blotch of red, two of green, two of white, and two of blue. I entered the number of blotches in the order on the door into the panel and clicked the "OK" key. It didn't work. I stuffed the bookmark back into my pocket in frustration and left the room. I would figure it out later.

I saw a door opposite of the room I had found the light switch and entered. There was a curtain in the back-left corner, a gray carpet, a table with a chair and some bookshelves in the back-right corner. I gingerly moved the curtain to reveal a tub full of clear water. Despite how thirsty I was, I deemed the water unsafe to drink. Wouldn't want to get cholera or something.

There was a rusty red key in the tub, and a chain hanging off the tub, attached to a plug in the tub. I pulled the chain and watched the water swim down the drain. I picked up the key with the handkerchief and tried to wipe the rust off, but none of it came off.

I put the key in my pocket, brushing against something else that was in there. I pulled it out. It was the plus shaped screwdriver. Where had I seen a plus shaped screw recently? My mind wandered to the color-coded door. Was that it?

I went to the room with the two locked doors and examined the number code. Under the numbers was a panel with plus shaped screws. It took a few minutes to unscrew them all, but at last, the panel fell off with a small *clang*. The space where the panel had been was full of holes and was about the size of the book mark. The déjà vu feeling came up again. Why couldn't I remember where I had seen this before? I followed the feeling and slipped the book mark into the space. The holes became filled with the colors of the book mark, and I entered in the code: one red, two green, three white, and seven blue. There was a click, and the door unlocked.

"Yes!" I cried quietly before I opened the door. Unfortunately, my victory was cut short by the appearance of monsters.

The Bobby monster and the Sally monster burst into the room behind me, and I yelped as I ran into the hallway beyond the unlocked door. I entered the room closest to me and felt relief when I saw the closet close to the door. I jumped inside and shut the door quickly and quietly.

The door to the room slammed open, and I could hear the heavy breathing of two large beasts. I put my hands over my eyes and chanted in my mind: _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me-_

The door slammed shut and I listened to the breathing and footsteps fade away. I peeked open the closet door and stepped into the open. No monsters appeared.

The room I was in was empty, save for a gray carpet and a white desk in the far corner from the door. I checked the desk, but there was nothing there.

I left the room and went to the only remaining door in the hall. This room was nearly identical to the room I had hid in: white desk, gray carpet, and closet that was shaking slightly. Wait. Shaking closet?

Eyeing it warily, I approached the closet, and carefully opened it—

"YAAH!" Ryan yelled as he fell on top of me, holding a stake in one hand and flailing the other.

"AAH!" I yelped. "Ryan, it's me! The Author! Stop trying to stab me, I—hey, I said STOP!" I knocked the stake out of Ryan's hand and pushed his face away from mine.

Ryan slowly stopped wriggling and looked at me. After a second of staring, he pushed himself up and leaned against the open closet.

"How did you get in here?" I asked. "The doors were all locked."

"How should I know?" Ryan snapped, reequipping his stake. "They were open when I came through. That monster must be doing this to mess with us."

"…Okay, I _guess_ that makes sense. At least come with me from now on."

"I can't. Look," Ryan pushed himself back into the closet and pointed at his left ankle. It seemed red and slightly swollen. "I think I sprained or twisted it while I was running. It's better that I stay here."

"But what if the monsters come in here? You'll be trapped—I can carry you-!"

"You? Carry me? Really, Ms. 'I can't even use a screwdriver right'?"

"Pleasant as always, Mr. Ryan," I grumbled. "Fine. If I find a way out, I'll come get you. Stay in the closet until then. Here's my family's special knock:" I knocked the old "shave and a haircut" song on the closet. Ryan raised an eyebrow as if to say, "really?" I ignored him. "That's how you'll know it's me."

"Well, I guess it's better than nothing."

"Did you find anything useful down here?" I asked.

"I don't know if 'useful' is the right word, but I found these," Ryan pulled a small bottle and a key out of his pocket. "It's vinegar in the bottle. Don't look at me like that, how should I know why there's vinegar down here?" He handed both objects to me. "Back Door Key: Floor 1" The key's tag read.

 _I don't remember there being a back door anywhere…_ I thought. I gazed at the vinegar for a moment when something crossed my mind. "Is vinegar acidic?" I asked.

"I don't… what?"

I searched my pocket for the rusty key I had found and examined it. "I think it is!" I unscrewed the cap. Laying the key on the floor, I poured the vinegar onto it. There was a slight sizzling sound, and the rust disintegrated from the key.

This key was slightly different from the others. It was only the length of my longest finger and had the words "Iron Gate Key: Floor B" carved in tiny letters on the widest part.

"Now I just need to find an iron gate," I told Ryan.

"Uh… alright? I don't really know what just happened…"

"That's why you don't skip school, Ryan."

Ryan made a gesture that I shan't repeat here. "Whatever, nerd. Just hurry up, okay?"

I nodded before standing up and leaving the room.

 _Where to first?_ I asked myself. There hadn't been anything of interest in the rooms I'd already explored, right?

I decided to check the room with the tub again and went there. Luckily, no monsters showed up.

The tub itself, on second glance, didn't seem that connected to the ground. I pulled it towards the door, revealing a set of stairs. I walked down the stairs and reached a row of iron bars, with a room beyond the locked door. I used the iron gate key and opened the door, entering the room. This room had a bed close to the wall, a TV in the middle right of the room, a dresser in the far-left corner, and three paintings on the back wall. The left one was blue, the middle one was red, and the right one was yellow. There was a small button under each painting.

The TV didn't seem connected to anything, and the dresser was empty. I decided not to press any of the buttons in case the paintings blew up in my face. I left the cell and went back upstairs. I meandered to the hall I had found Ryan in and entered the room I had hid in.

I wandered slowly to the closet… then tripped over the carpet. I caught myself just before I fell and glared at the carpet. I noticed that it was bulging in the corner and I lifted the rug a bit, revealing a disk. I examined the disk. It had an arrow going around in a circle and colored lines around the outside of the arrow. I snapped my fingers and hurried to the cell room.

I clicked the buttons under the paintings in the order of the colored lines: red, yellow, yellow, blue, yellow, red. The red painting fell off the wall with a clatter and revealed a hole in the wall. In this hole was a metal stick with bumps on one side, like a…

"…Key?" I muttered. I fiddled with the disk and the metal stick until I found a hole in the disk and slid the stick into it. It was now a key of sorts. "Well, where does it go?" I grumbled in frustration. I thought for a moment, trying to remember all the doors I couldn't open before. There was only one…

I hurried up the stairs and went to the door I had found behind the bookshelves. I put the key in the lock and opened the door.

 _…ssshh…._

Was that-?

I entered the dark and humid hallway. I hurried along, not bothering to pull out my lighter. I reached the end of the hall. Yes… It was…!

Rain dropped down from the hole above the hall's end, tickling me with its splatters on my forehead. A rope ladder was hanging from the hole. I stood there for a moment, eyes closed, just feeling the rain fall. While I had never been a fan of being stuck out in the rain, I still liked the sound of it at night. I smiled slightly.

Then I remembered: Ryan. If I didn't go back to him, he'd never know there was a way out of this mansion. At the same time, the déjà vu was telling me to abandon him and go up the ladder alone. I pondered for a moment, but finally turned away from the ladder. Ryan needed me, even if he didn't want to admit it.

 ***A Few Minutes Later***

"Are you serious? You found an exit?" Ryan said.

"Why would I joke about this? But never mind that now. I have a bad feeling that if we don't hurry, we'll lose our chance."

"Yeah, okay. Hang on…" Ryan pushed himself up before almost immediately falling over. I caught him and put his arm over my shoulder. He glared at me.

"It'll be faster this way," I said. He rolled his eyes but let me lead him to the hidden hallway.

I hoped that he wouldn't ask the question, but as we rounded the corner to the rope ladder, he raised his head suddenly.

"What about Sally and Bobby?" I hurried faster, pulling Ryan along. He began to pull away from me. "Author, _what about Sally and Bobby?_ "

"I—" I stopped short. Ryan was about to say something when I clapped my free hand over his mouth. He looked to where I was looking.

The original monster was standing at the end of the hall, pulling the rope ladder apart with its hands and mouth. "No…" Ryan's voice was barely audible over the rain, yet the monster whipped its head around to look at us. I backed up a step before turning to run, yanking Ryan after me.

We had reached the door and were just about to cross the threshold when Ryan slipped off my shoulder and fell to the ground. I had run a few steps past the doorway in the few seconds before I realized what had happened. "NO!" I cried, turning to the now closed door only to have it slam open, revealing the monster.

I bolted away from it and ran for the room I had found Ryan in, jumping into the closet and pulling the doors shut. I chanted _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-don't-find-me-_ in my head, harder when the door to the room slammed upon. There was breathing for about a minute, getting closer and farther from me as the minute went on. Finally, the door slammed shut. I leaned against the back of the closet and felt tears drip down my face.

I was all alone now.

* * *

And then there was one… or was there…?

I'll probably write the next chapter in a few days, so that should give anyone who's actually reading this story time to digest what has happened.

So, what did you think? There was a lot of puzzle solving this chapter, which, as you know, is not one of my favorite things to write. But there was also character interaction, which I do like to write! Please, let me know what you thought, and I'll see you in a few days. Until then!


	9. Acting Alone Again

Hey. Guess what.

It's… an update! Hooray! Hooray!

So, yeah, I'm back. I didn't plan on writing this today, per se, but I decided the thing I really wanted to write was a little too random to just… do. Thus, I have put a poll on my profile. Check it out if you're curious. Check it out if you're not curious. Check it out. Check it. Check. It. Out.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. It might be a little short. I hope you don't mind.

* * *

Chapter 9: Acting Alone Again

As I slowly found the stairs leading up to annex, I remembered something unusual: the lightbulb I had screwed into the doll. If I recalled correctly, it had lit up quite brightly when I put it in. Maybe that was a clue to help get out? Get out…

I sniffled and wiped my nose with my scarf as I entered the room with the lightbulb doll. Should I have trusted my instincts and left Ryan alone in the mansion, probably to die? A part of me felt I should have, but another part of me just didn't want to think about it. Besides, the back-door key Ryan had given me seemed promising. There had to be more than one way out of this place. If all else failed, I could try breaking the front door down or something. I breathed a slight laugh through my sniffles at the thought of someone as weak as me doing anything.

I flicked the light switch that was next to the door. Sure enough, the light bulb remained brightly lit. The arm of the other doll cast a shadow that ended at a section of the wall paper in the corner of the room.

I pulled out the plate shard and cut at the wall paper, revealing a door with a knob. I used the back-door key on it and opened the door.

 _…ssssh… rmmmble…_

I stared at the darkness beyond the door and the rain cascading down from the orange-gray sky. It was humid and warm with cooling rain and a slight breeze. I closed my eyes and felt the motion of the world outside. I felt a little better.

I opened my eyes and walked quickly outside, only to bump into a concrete fence that was too tall to climb over. I felt along this fence, hoping to find an exit. After a minute of feeling, I found myself at the wall of a new house. _No…_ I thought. I opened this new door and stepped out of the rain. My next thought was _ew…_

The new house smelled moldy and wet. The floor boards were a dark green color and the wall paper was tan with growths climbing up from the floor. It wasn't cold, though, so that was nice, I supposed. There was a door to my left and a short hall in front of me that led to a longer hall. The left door was locked, so I walked to the hall's end and found a set of stairs leading up and a longer hallway with two doors along it. And a mysterious hole in the ground that was completely dark. I decided to stay away from it.

I entered the first door in the longer hall, which was empty save for a closet and an empty bookshelf and a desk. The next door led into a small chapel-like room with three benches on each side of a long red carpet; six total. The carpet led to a pedestal of a woman, which had two torches standing in tall candle stands. I gazed around this room. Despite the smell, the room made me feel… something. Something powerful… Something… in me.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw a stick under one of the benches. I picked it up. It was taller than me, but very light weight. No doubt that it could be used for reaching or hitting something.

I went up the stairs (which squeaked heavily) and found another door to the right and a hall that led to a longer hall, presumably with more doors.

I entered the door to the right and saw that the room was mostly empty. There was a bed and a bookshelf close to the door, and a picture frame farther away. I meandered to the frame—

CRACK!

I fell over backwards as the monster's head broke through the floor in the corner of the room. I scrambled to my feet while the monster was still pulling itself out of the hole. I slammed open the door, remembering that there was a closet downstairs.

I bolted to the room I was thinking of and practically jumped into the closet (luckily, the stick fit as well), closing the doors as the monster followed me into the room.

I chanted again: _don't-find-me-don't-find-me-_

The door of the room slammed shut and it was quiet again, except for the rain sounding through the thin walls. I waited a few more seconds before peeking through the cracks in the closet. I stepped out and made my way back up the stairs.

Before I tried the remaining doors in the upstairs hall, I decided to check the room that monster had startled me in. I first examined the frame in the corner, which was brown with slight definitions of an image. A stomach, maybe?

I then examined the hole in the floor. The drop didn't look that far, and I couldn't see the monster, so perhaps it was safe? I sat at the edge and lowered myself into the fall. I landed without breaking my legs.

The room below was empty, mostly, with a painting on one of the walls. The dice in the picture seemed to protrude out of the frame, and the first dice was missing.

I unlocked the door to the room and found myself back in the downstairs hall, next to the entrance to this place. I headed back up the stairs to see what was in the remaining rooms.

The first door in the longer hall was locked, but the last door seemed more promising. There was a bed in the corner, a desk with a chair in the other corner, two bookshelves next to the desk, and… strange purple crayon scribbles along the back wall, missing from one section of the wall.

I pulled out the plate shard and cut away at the gross paper, revealing a door with a knob. For some reason, it was unlocked. The room beyond was almost a copy of the room before, missing only the bookshelves and adding a closet in the corner. There was something shiny on the desk. I took a step towards it—

SLAM!

I jumped and looked behind me. The door was closed, but I could hear the sound of heavy footsteps from the room I had just left. Forgetting the shiny, I leapt into the closet just as the room's door slammed open. I clenched my eyes shut and began my mantra. I covered my mouth when I began to hear a sickening sticky sound right in my ears. Then there was a loud thump, and I jumped despite myself, doubling down on my chant even harder. After what felt like the slowest minute in the world, the sticky sound stopped and the door slammed closed. Another second later, the door to this pair of rooms slammed shut as well.

I slowly peeked open the closet door and gasped. The room looked as if it were lit by a black light with how heavily the purple crayon scribbles covered everything. The bed was flipped over. The only thing clean of the "crayon" was the shiny thing that had been on the desk. It was a die.

I picked it up and examined it. It reminded me of how my sisters The Deviant and The Vet had recently gotten into D n' D campaigns and looked for some fancy dice of their own. I pocketed the die and hurried out of the room, making my way to the room with the dice picture.

* * *

Yeah, yeah, I know: it's too short and not enough gets done, wweh.

Like I said, I ended up writing this instead of what I planned to write. Also, like I said, I might decide to write it anyway, whether or not people actually vote. Still, your participation would be appreciated.

We're getting to a bigger part of the story soon. Maybe next chapter, maybe not, it depends on how I feel. If you've paid attention to the list of characters on this story, you may know what this big thing is.

So, please, leave a review, tell me what you thought, and I'll see you soon… I hope.


	10. Acting a Little Shy and Embarrassed

Before we begin, a HUGE shout out to Starry's Light for reviewing! Each chapter! I was really happy, and I want to please you even more! I thought about what you said about the rogues, and they may not or may be coming back (I won't spoil it), but I like the idea of giving them some more screen time. I came up with a little idea last night as I was falling asleep, but I probably won't work on it until this story is done, which may be in a few chapters, depending on how I feel. Think you can wait that long? (Wink wink).

Enough about me, you're here for the story! See you at the bottom of the page.

* * *

Chapter 10: Acting a Little Shy and Embarrassed

I stuck the die I had found into square slot in the picture. There were now six dice lined up in a row, with the six-side sticking out. I watched with some curiosity as a single pip lit up on each of the dice, a different pip for each one. It reminded me of the benches in that chapel-like room. _Man, I really need to find a pencil or something,_ I thought. For now, I would just have to try and remember it for a short while. Hopefully, the monsters wouldn't appear and make me forget.

I walked out of the room and past the stairs to the chapel near the hole in the floor. That seemed to be the key to moving forward. Upon further examination of the benches, there was a button on the end of each bench.

I clicked the buttons next to each bench in this order: middle right, middle left, lower left, upper left, lower right, upper right.

I heard a grinding sound and looked up just in time to see the statue of the lady move to the right, revealing a set of stairs. I held my stick in one hand and the lighter in the other. I walked down the stairs to find a large, empty room with a single door opposite the stairs and an ax and shield hanging on the wall near the stairs. I entered this door and saw almost nothing. The walls and floor were black stone, and there was a door to my left, a door to my far right, and one ahead of me.

I entered the left door and saw nearly the stark opposite of the previous room: bright white walls and floors with a picture frame on one end and a door on the other. The picture in the painting was gray, with slight indentions that looked similar to the brown picture I had seen in the room the monster had broken through the floor in. The door in the room was locked, so I ventured back into the darkness.

I opened the door opposite the stairs and saw barely anything; a single source of light came from the ceiling. I pulled out my lighter and clicked it on. I took only a few steps forward when I bumped into a table with a candle on it. I lit the candle and looked around the slightly brighter room. Aside from the table, the only other thing in the room was a frame on the wall with a familiar brown picture in it. The main difference between this picture and the ones before it was the blue piece in the bottom left corner that stuck out slightly.

I felt the déjà vu feeling again and pulled out the piece… only for the door I had left open slam shut, followed by a loud *CLICK*.

I whipped around and turned the handle frantically, but to no avail. In frustration and just a hint of panic, I looked all around the room, even down and up. When I looked up, I saw a square shaped hole that was probably the source of light I had seen before. So there _was_ a way out… but how could I reach it?

I pondered the situation for a moment when something clicked in my mind. The door had locked when I removed the blue piece, so what would happen if I put it back? I did so, and I heard the door open a crack behind me. So _that_ was it… I would have to get this somehow important piece out of this room a different way.

I left the room and looked to my left. There was a door at the bottom of the hallway and a door at the top. I entered the room at the bottom of the hall and saw yet another pitch-black room. I pulled out my lighter and felt along the wall. There appeared to be more iron bars, though the apparent door to the cell I was feeling was open. Just as I had reached this "door", I saw a small table with another candle on it. I had just lit the candle, when—

Something or someone wrapped an arm around my waist and a hand over my mouth and pulled me backwards. My yelp was muffled by the hand, but the sound I heard next silenced me completely. A door near the front of the hall opened and a monster came out. It looked right at me. My eyes widened and I felt another tug in my stomach. The monster stared at me silently. Its brow seemed to furrow slightly, and its mouth turned into the slightest of frowns. It continued to stare. Staring. Staring. Staring.

Finally, it turned away and walked out the way I had entered the dark hall.

After a few seconds of looking the way the monster left, I let out the breath I had been holding. I felt the arm around my waist and mouth loosen slightly, and I pulled away.

His appearance was a little hard to see in the candle light, but I made out dark hair that reached his collar bone and purple eyes. He was pale and was wearing the white dress shirt and black pants I had seen Bobby and Ryan wearing. He stared at me with his head cocked to the side.

"…You saved me," I said quietly. The boy, who looked maybe a year older or younger than me, continued to stare, his eyebrows knitted together.

"Thank you," I continued. "What's your-?" He put a hand over my mouth. I immediately stopped talking and peered around, expecting to see another monster. When nothing happened, I looked at him. He was staring at me intently. "Um… what are you doing?" I asked quietly. He moved his lips silently, and I got the impression that he was repeating what I said to himself. After staring at me for another second, he removed his hand.

"You… speak English?" he asked slowly.

"Um… yes," I replied.

"I see…" He put a hand to his chin and looked me up and down. "What were you saying earlier?"

"I said 'thank you'. You know, for saving me from that monster."

"Saving you…" He looked thoughtful. "…You're welcome."

"What's your name?" I asked again.

"…Naoki. What are you called?"

"I go by The Author. Sounds strange, I know, but—"

"The… Author? Like a scribe?"

"In a sense, I suppose," I replied. He continued to look thoughtful. I shifted uncomfortably. "How did you get in here?" I asked. "All of the doors were locked or hidden before I came through."

"I… don't know? How _did_ I get in here?"

I frowned. Was I dealing with an amnesiac now? A little bit of a possible head ache, but it was nice to see someone again, even if it was a stranger. "I'm trying to escape this mansion," I said at last. "Will you come with me?"

"I…" For some reason, he seemed torn.

I gingerly held out my hand. "Please?"

"I don't… want to leave this room…" I took back my hand sadly. "But… I would like to help you."

I perked up a bit. A little help was always good. "How will you help me?"

"Do you need food? And drink?" Just then, my stomach rumbled. Naoki seemed slightly surprised, but then smiled shyly. "Come, Author. I have bread and water here. A lot, actually."

He took my hand and pulled me into the cell. His hand was cool but comforting. Gentle. Despite myself, I shyly kept my eyes on his friendly, firm grip.

Sure enough, there was a small stack of bags of white bread and a case of water bottles in the cell, as well as a roll of duct tape. I eagerly took a bottle and downed half of it. Naoki handed me some bread and I scarfed it down. I closed my eyes and smiled slightly as I felt the weight of the bread in my stomach. Naoki watched me, almost with a sense of fascination. How long had he been down here, alone except for the company of monsters?

I set the stick I was still holding down and took another piece of bread. Naoki picked up the stick and examined it. It occurred to me that Naoki wasn't giving me any sense of déjà vu. He was completely new to me, even more so than the rogues before. I lowered my gaze when I thought of the three of them. Would Naoki die and turn into a monster like Sally and Bobby had? Would I be left alone again?

"Author?" I looked up to see Naoki looking at me in concern. "Are you… crying?"

I quickly wiped at my eyes and sniffled, embarrassed. "Sorry, sorry, just… a lot has happened today."

"Like what?"

I sighed. "It's a very long story…"

"We have time!" He said, a little eagerly.

"Well, you're not wrong, I suppose… okay. I'll tell you." I stood up and began to pace around the cell. "It all started this morning…"

* * *

I've thought a lot about this part of the story. It's not perfect, but my little sister The Deviant read this through and thought it was good. I'll trust her judgement.

I'm excited to see what you think of Naoki. I'll probably do him more justice as I write more about him. I hope you like him!

Please, leave a review, tell me what you thought, and: if you're a Bendy and the Ink Machine fan, check out the poll on my profile!

Until then!


	11. Acting Stupid

Sorry it took so long for this to come out. Or for anything to come out, really. I've just been really lazy.

I hope you really like this one; I wanted to end it on a specific note. I hope you like it. See you at the bottom of the page.

* * *

Chapter 11: Acting Stupid

"…Aaaand that's pretty much the long and short of it," I finished. Naoki had a hand on his chin and was nodding slowly, as he had been doing through the duration of my story. For some reason, he seemed troubled, but that was probably me just reading him wrong. I decided not to ask.

After a moment, he stopped nodding and looked at the stick I had put down. "I… want to help you," he said.

"You already did," I said. He looked up, seemingly in confusion. "You gave me food and water, which I haven't had all day. What else could you do for me?"

Naoki frowned, probably pondering, when his eyes lit up. "Can you defend yourself?"

"Not really. What, are you going to be my knight in shining armor?" I said jokingly.

"Knight…?"

"It's a figure of speech," I said, mentally hitting myself for using an idiom that might not translate well into… whatever language he spoke. "I do have some weapons… sort of." I pulled out the stake Ryan had carved and the plate shard. "Not the best in the world, but I've made do."

"May I…?" He set down my stick and held out his hands. I gave him the objects.

He examined them one at a time from top to bottom, front and back. He nodded after a moment and lay the things down. He picked up the role of duct tape lying next to the bread and water and pulled off a long piece. He put the stake point out against the stick and taped them together. He then did the same for the plate shard. He held it out to me proudly. "Now, you have a longer weapon," he said.

I took the stick and felt the weight in my hands. Not heavy, but firmly solid. "This is brilliant, Naoki, thank you!"

"…Brilliant…?" Naoki's cheeks flushed visibly, as any anime character would have. I felt my smile slip slowly off my face. Who had hurt this person that a compliment would make him blush? I set down the stick.

"Now it's your turn. Tell me about yourself."

"About me? I…" He looked away.

I sat on the metal bench chained to the cell wall. "Whenever you're ready, of course."

"I… don't know," he finally said. "I don't really remember anything before being down here. Yes…"

 _What, is he immortal or something?_

 **Shut up, me.**

 _Maybe being in this mansion lets you live forever._

 **Shut up! Look, he stopped talking. Say something nice!**

"…Cool." **_Stupid, stupid, stupid-!_** "What I mean to say is," I started over, "is that it's okay if you don't remember. And it's okay if you want to stay in here. Less likely the monsters will find you at a bad time, and all that. I'll continue exploring this building and you can hold the fort—I mean, stay here. Does that sound good?"

Naoki seemed surprised at my words but nodded quickly. "Yes. Yes, I will 'hold the fort', as you said. Oh, but before you go forward…" He walked out of our cell and into the next one, returning quickly with a key. I took it, our hands brushing slightly. "Study Key: Floor 2," its tag read.

I stuck the key in my pocket, feeling something wooden against my hand. I pulled out another wooden stake. The one I was supposed to give to Bobby… I shook my head and put Naoki's hand around the not-sharp end. His hand was cold, but mine felt warm at his touch. He weighed the stick in his hand, nodding slowly. "Yes… thank you, Author."

I nodded back. "Okay, I'm going now. See you soon…" _I hope…_

I walked over to the door the monster had come in through before Naoki grabbed my hand. "Not there!" he said. I looked at him. "…It's locked."

"Ah," I said. "Thanks." Naoki let go of my hand. He was still looking at his as I left through the way I had come.

I was back in the dark stone hallway. The only door I hadn't checked was opposite me, and I entered it. There were four beds lined up against that back wall with curtains around them. The right most one had a pentagon painted on the curtain. The other curtains were drawn back.

I slowly pushed the right curtain back and saw a pile of rope. I picked up one end and the rest of the rope unfurled, revealing it to be a rope ladder. Immediately, I thought of the room with the locking door. I hurried out of the bed room and up the stairs, stopping at the hole outside of the chapel-like room.

Sure enough, there were two nails sticking out of the floor in front of the hole, and there were two loops at the end of the rope ladder. I stuck the loops around the nails and let the ladder flop down into the hole. I heard the near-silent *flap* of the end of the ladder hitting the floor. I put as much weight as I could on the first rope rung to test it, and it didn't snap. I hurried down the ladder, stuffed the blue piece into my pocket, and climbed back out just as quickly.

I pulled out the Study Key that Naoki had given me. Floor 2, huh…? I walked carefully up the stairs to the remaining locked door. Once opened, I found the study to be a very large room; larger than the chapel below.

There was a long table pushed against the back of the room with a single chair in front of it. There were a few books on the table, but they seemed to be glued down or something. There was a section of wall that was pushed farther back with four screws on the wall in the shape of a small square. There were several paintings on the back wall and two bookshelves to the left. I pulled at some of the books, but they were stuck together in bunches of five or so.

One of the bookshelves was not pushed against the back wall. When I peeked behind it, I saw another closet. _How convenient,_ I thought, _and it's more hidden, as well!_

I made my way to the four screws in the wall to see which screwdriver I would need when I heard the sound of glass breaking. I stopped short and slowly looked behind me. One of the paintings had fallen off, revealing a safe high up on the wall. I abandoned the screws to pull the chair up to the safe. Then I remembered that I hadn't seen a code anywhere. Maybe the screws would help?

I went back to the screws, which turned out to be plus-shaped. I pulled out the correct screwdriver and undid the screws. I heard the sound of something falling off on the other side of the wall. Wasn't there a painting on the wall in the room near the top of the stairs? That must have been it!

I walked to the shut door when I heard it:

 _MEOW!_

A precious, fluffy-wuffy gray kitty with stripes on its back scampered out from behind the bookshelf near the closet. It padded past me and scratched frantically at the closed door.

"Aww…" I cooed as I picked it up and nuzzled it with my forehead, ignoring the possibility that it might have germs. It yowled again, struggling in my grip. "Do you want to go out, Liebling?" I asked, opening the door with a free(ish) hand. It propelled itself out of my arms and down the stairs. "Bye-bye, sweetness!" I waved after it, stepping out of the doorway and into the hall. Wait, how could it leave the building if there were no exits? Maybe Naoki would find it and we could keep it as a pet together when we got out of here. The floor boards creaked inside the study. I turned around.

.

.

.

Shoot _shootSHOOT—!_

I dived out of the way as a block shaped monster with crooked teeth and huge arms and legs rushed past me and smacked into the wall outside the door. It turned slowly in my direction, its eyes bulging and round.

 _The closet!_ I thought as I ran back into the study and slammed the door. I hurried behind the bookshelf and saw the closet open just a crack.

Everything was going fine until I opened the closet more. Then everything took a turn for the worse.

"Aw, _gross,"_ I said. The inside of the closet had purple goo dripping from the roof of the closet and was leaking out onto the floor. No _way_ was I hiding in there. The door to the room slammed open.

 _Yes_ way was I hiding in there.

I dropped my stick, stepped carefully into the closet, and shut the doors.

 _Ew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew—_ I thought. Some goo dripped onto my knees. _EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-EW-_

 _CREAK…_

I stopped thinking anything. A purple face slowly peered into the closet.

The monster wrapped a huge fist around my folded body and tossed me across the room like lightning. I slammed into the wall and fell in a heap on the floor.

Stars were swimming in my eyes. Faintly, over the blood rushing in my ears, I heard the monster take a step towards me… then it was suddenly right beside me. I watched as it reached a meaty hand towards me.

It stopped. There was a creaking sound and something small and sharp tore through the center of its face. The monster's roar was cut short when the sharp thing pulled backwards out of its head. It fell to its knobby knees, then fell backwards. It was silent now.

The stars in my eyes were warbling between total blackness and little clarity. Someone human shaped appeared in my sight. They had dark hair that reached their collar bone and purple eyes. Those eyes were the only thing I could clearly see.

"…Naoki…?" I tried to whisper.

Naoki bent down and scooped me up in his arms. Part of me wondered how a boy who looked barely older than me and had been living on nothing but bread and water for an unknown amount of time could lift me, but then something else made its way to the front of my mind.

"The… monster…"

"Rest now," Naoki's voice echoed in my ears, gentle and calming.

"But—"

"Rest," he repeated. I felt as though we were moving now, slowly, but steadily. Through the moments of clarity, I watched the ceiling become darker. Then I was laid down on something cold and hard. I wriggled a bit, trying to get comfortable, but firm hands held me down. "Rest," Naoki's voice repeated again.

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the stars in my eyes when he began to whisper. It was quiet. It was gentle. It was a repeating nonsense that made no sense to me. It sent relaxing chills along my spine that made me sigh deeply. My lower back tingled. I closed my eyes and let the trilling feeling envelope me.

* * *

What language does Naoki speak? I don't know. You don't know.

What accent does he have? I don't know. You don't know.

Why did the monster find The Author in the closet now, but not anytime before now? I'm sure that if you look carefully, you'll see something different about this time that made the monster find The Author.

Am I going to plug the song-fic I want to write to everyone who reads this story? Yes. Yes I am.

So, please, if you like Bendy and the Ink Machine and/or Heathers: the Musical, please vote on the poll on my profile (Remember, the song I want to write is Dead Girl Walking: Reprise, not the first one.)

Leave a review, tell me what you thought of this chapter, and I'll see you all later. Until then!


	12. Acting Alone No Longer

What's that? A crossover fic? You don't want to go and read a fic like that! Greedy to read all that! You'll end up with your teeth all gray!

So hey, I'm back. There's a storm passing through and classes are cancelled until at least Monday, so I've been spending my time writing. And doing homework. But mostly writing.

I wrote this yesterday, but I decided to wait until today to post it. I hope you enjoy it. See you at the bottom of the page.

* * *

Chapter 12: Acting Alone No Longer

I finally came to, feeling stiff and sore. My head was pounding. My eyes really didn't want to open, but I struggled through it. When I finally worked through my unconsciousness, the first thing I saw was Naoki, standing over me. He was holding the stake I had given him and staring at it. It seemed that he hadn't noticed I had awoken. It was dark, but I could see his eyes clearly, in true anime fashion. He had such a serious look in his eyes… what was he thinking of?

"…Naoki?" I finally asked, pushing myself up into a sitting position.

This made Naoki jump a foot in the air and drop his stake. "A-Author?!"

"Hey," I said. "Did I scare you?"

"W-what?" He bent over and picked up the stake. I put a hand to my head, and he stood up and stopped me. "No, no, don't touch it! Let me!"

He knelt in front of me and gingerly touched my forehead. I blinked when he made contact. It hurt a bit, but not as bad as I would have assumed after getting thrown into a wall. "How bad is it?" I asked quietly.

"There's a little bit of blood… don't look so afraid, the damage doesn't look too bad." He reached next to him and gave me a water bottle. I took it and downed the whole thing. After I slammed the bottle gently on the bench I was lying on, Naoki took the scarf from around my neck and wrapped it around my forehead.

"Thank you," I said. Naoki bit his lip and looked me in the eyes. "What are you thinking about, Naoki?"

"I—" he paused. I waited for him to continue. "I… want to help you."

"You already—"

"NO!" He cried. I jumped a bit and leaned away. "I mean—I want to go with you from now on. I don't want you to get hurt like this again."

I brightened. "Really?" I was most likely excited because I had been alone for most of this journey and needed the company.

"Yes." Naoki looked up at the ceiling. "We'll go together." I looked to where he was looking, but I didn't see anything. I stood up… then nearly collapsed, head spinning. Naoki caught me and set me back on the bench. "Just not right now," he finished.

"Haha, yeah, not right now." I leaned against the wall and sighed. My clothes were dry somehow, despite that icky closet I had tried to hide in. Naoki stood awkwardly next to me. I patted the bench. "I won't mind if you sit with me," I said. Almost shyly, he sat next to me. We didn't talk, but I was fine with that. I think he was, too.

 ***A few minutes later***

"Okay," I said as we walked slowly up the stairs to the second floor. "I unscrewed something in the study, which I think was connected to a different room where one of those monsters broke through the floor. I think we should go there first."

"Um, okay…?" Naoki looked uncertain. Maybe I had spoken too fast, as I was wont to do. I led him to the room I had mentioned and saw a picture frame on the floor. On the back of the frame was another blue piece. I picked it up and showed it to Naoki.

"I found another one of these down in the basement. I'm not sure what they're for, though."

Naoki put a hand to his chin. "I think I know where those go," he said. "Follow me." He led me back to the basement and opened the door to the white room. There was the door at the back of the room and the gray picture with the indents.

"Of course!" I said, clicking the pieces into place. "Now what?"

"Um…" We pondered for a bit. Then I snapped my fingers. "What is it?" Naoki asked.

"There was a safe in the study. We need to find the combination. Only problem is, I have no idea where that code would be…"

"Have you checked the bed ward?" he asked.

"Bed ward?" Naoki took me to the room I had found the rope ladder in. "Oh, yeah," I said. "There was a pentagon on one of the curtains."

"And there are more shapes on the others." He pulled the left most curtain around the bed, revealing a triangle. I pulled at the third curtain while Naoki pulled on the second one. There was a triangle, a circle, a square, and a pentagon. "Now, we can count the number of sides. That should be your code."

"Brilliant!" I said. "I nearly forgot about the shape on the curtain! It would have taken me hours to do that on my own!"

"B-brilliant?" Naoki blushed again. I paid it little mind. I was a little more worried that I'd see the remains of that monster in the study, but I figured it would be better to not let Naoki know I was nervous.

"Let's see… Three, zero, four, five. Let's go!" I hurried back up to the study. My head injury seemed to be getting better. Or maybe I was just getting used to the pain. Naoki followed me slowly, as if he were worried about something.

We entered the study. No monster guts, which was a relief to my stomach but a worry to my mind. Where did the remains go? I stood on the chair in front of the safe and entered the combination. I pulled out a key with a tag on it reading "Basement Key: Floor B". I stepped carefully off the chair and presented the key. Naoki looked really, _really_ worried. "What's wrong?" I asked, as gently as I knew how.

"It's… nothing," he replied.

I put the key in my pocket and made eye contact with him. "Really, Naoki, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" He insisted. "It's just… that key goes to where…"

My eyebrows knit together… then I realized where he meant. The door that the monster came out of when I first met Naoki. "It's the only place we haven't been," I said. "If we go together, we might be able to handle them." I lifted my double headed "spear" Naoki had made for me that I'd been using as a walking cane. Naoki still looked unsure, but I made for the door to the study. He followed after me after a second.

We went back to the cell room and stopped in front of the room the key went to. I unlocked it, nodded at Naoki, and stepped inside.

I gaped.

The room was white. The room was big. The room had monsters everywhere.

The monsters were separated from me by a long row of cell bars. There was a huge monster that was thumping the ground with its fists, one that looked like the top half of a regular monster's face with tentacles on the bottom, another block shaped one, one that was just a mass of eyes on a blob, one that looked like a caterpillar, one that looked like a regular monster got its head stretched in photoshop, and one with a hunched back.

I realized I had stopped breathing and gasped for air. That was a mistake. The monster with the hunched back swiveled its head towards me and grinned with dark gray fangs. It opened the cell door and began to stalk towards me. I reached behind me to grab the door knob. My hand touched nothing. I turned and saw that the door was closed.

"N-Naoki?" I turned the door knob, but it was shut tight. "Naoki?!"

The monster was getting closer.

"NAOKI!" I screamed, dropping my stick and pulling at the door with both hands. Suddenly, the door swung open and I fell to the ground outside the door. The door shut behind me.

I forced myself into a plank and looked up to see Naoki, his eyes wide with fear. "Author!" he cried. "I'm sorry!"

"What happened, Naoki? I—"

"I'm so sorry!" He cried again.

"M—my stick…" I began, brain short-circuiting from fear.

"I'll get it!" Naoki pulled out his stake and opened the door.

"Naoki, NO!" I shouted, reaching after him.

He yelled a war cry as he leapt inside. I clamped my eyes shut and heard… nothing. I slowly peeked my eyes open. There was no sound. I pushed myself up and peered into the room. Naoki was standing in front of the door, holding his stake. The monsters had all disappeared.

"What… happened?" I asked faintly.

"I don't know…" he replied shakily. "There's a blue piece." He pointed to the inside of the cell. Opposite the door was a frame with a blue piece in it. The last one. The cell door was still open.

"We should hurry before they come back," I said, touching his shoulder. He flinched at my touch. "Come on," I goaded him forward. We walked slowly inside the room and through the cell door. I closed it behind us. Just in case.

We reached the piece, and I took it out of the frame. "Hey," a voice said behind us. I yelped and whipped around, seeing—

"Ryan?!" I cried. Naoki put an arm in front of me and pointed his stake at the rogue leader. "Wait…" I said, staring hard at Ryan. "How do we know you didn't turn into a monster?"

"How do I prove it to you?" Ryan mused. He put a hand to his chin for a moment before snapping his fingers. He held out his hands.

CLAP! CLAP-CLAP-CLAP CLAP! … CLAP! CLAP!

The old shave and a haircut.

"It's okay," I said to Naoki, lowering his arm. "He's a… friend?"

"I don't know if 'friend' is the right word, but sure," Ryan replied. Naoki lowered his weapon, still glaring at Ryan venomously.

Despite myself, I came forward and hugged Ryan. "I'm sorry!" Was the first thing that came to mind. "I should have told you about Bobby and Sally! See, what happened was—"

"It's okay," Ryan said, not looking at me. "I found out the hard way."

"Oh…" I said. "Um… sorry." I showed Ryan the blue piece. "I think these things are how we get out. This is the last one."

"That makes sense," he replied. "Let's hurry."

"Right!" I pocketed the piece and led the way to the white room. Naoki was quiet, and Ryan looked… unaffected. I put the piece into the slot and heard a *click*. "Alright!" I said. "Now we just need to—"

 _CREEK…_

"get… out of… here…" I slowly turned around.

Ryan was several feet taller.

His skin was purple.

His smile was crooked.

"RUN!" I yelled, pulling Naoki after me and back to the room with the blue piece. I slammed the cell door shut before the Ryan-monster reached us. It pulled at the cell door, while I tried to keep it shut. Naoki swiped at the monster's fingers with his stake, which made the monster even angrier. I felt yet another tug in my stomach and slammed the door on the monster's hand with ferocity. The monster glared at me, no longer smiling, before pulling its hand out of the door and storming out the way we came.

"I don't know what I expected," I said pointlessly. "Let's hurry—" I stopped. "Let's—hurry—"

Do you ever have those moments where you feel pain right before the thing that causes pain happens? Like, right before a fire alarm goes off, you feel that tensing up of your muscles? That's what I felt before the pain really registered.

I screamed and fell to the ground. My heart… what was wrong with my heart?! It was like every beat was irregular, moving diagonally in my chest instead of pulsating properly. My eyes watered and my injured forehead pulsed painfully for each wrong heart beat that spasmed. Naoki knelt next to me and shook my shoulders, which only exacerbated the pain. "I need to get out!" Was all I could manage.

"You—you need to rest! I'll take you to the bed ward, I can—"

"I'M DYING! I'M _DYING!_ " I screamed. I managed to flip onto my stomach and crawled out of the cell. Naoki tried to stop me by grabbing my leg, but I shook him free.

He followed me as I crawled back to the door that had unlocked. When I reached for the door handle, he grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I slumped against the door, tears flooding my eyes. "I can help you in here, but not out there!" He cried. "Stay with me, Author!"

"Listen…!" I whispered. My ear was to the door. I could barely register it over the painful palpitations, but it was definitely there. Naoki strained to listen. "The rain…" I whispered. "Out there… the exit's right there…! I…" I swallowed heavily. "I WANT TO GO HOME!" I wailed. "I WANT MY MOMMY AND DADDY AND VET AND GAMER AND DEVI AND ARTY AND… AND… AND…!" I continued to cry, my words tangling like spilled spaghetti.

Naoki's eyes were clenched shut, his teeth gritted as I wailed again.

He stood up. The door opened away from me. I was pulled up from the ground, and Naoki lifted my arm around his neck. He began to walk me out of the room and into the rain.

The ground was mushy and water seeped into my shoes. It was cold and wet and exhilarating. There was a line of bricks a few feet away; the boundary of the mansion. I was in pain and yet so… alive.

At least until the monsters showed up.

I heard the sound of heavy, squishy footsteps behind us, and I glanced behind to see three monsters- Sally, Bobby, and Ryan—stalking towards us. At the pace we were going, we would both be eaten alive. Naoki was closer.

I pushed him over the brick boundary and fell into a muddy mess on the ground. Naoki vanished as soon as he crossed the barrier.

My heart was pounding worse and worse. It wouldn't be long now before I died, one way or another. Sure enough, I was lifted into the air—almost delicately—and surrounded by the three monsters. They were staring at me, then at each other, as if they didn't know what to do. I lay limp in their arms.

Then, they began to whisper.

It was unintelligible, what they were saying. Their lips pursed and unpursed rhythmically. I felt my heart beat less painfully. The rain and whispering combined sent a cool feeling along my limbs. Just as quickly as the whispering started, it stopped. They were looking back the way we had come. I looked with them.

The original monster was standing by the stairs that led back inside. It was holding out its hands, as if it were waiting for the three others to give me to it. They looked back at each other, then back at me. They seemed to share a look… then tossed me across the boundary.

I tumbled across the border and rolled to a stop, facing an empty field where the monsters had ben before. I could hear them whispering again, only this time, I understood it: _Remember us…!_

 _I will,_ I thought. _I… promise…_ And the world faded to black.

* * *

Oof, that was heavy. Leave a review and tell me if this chapter made you feel.

I feel like the words 'mommy' and 'daddy' are really powerful, and convey an image of one who is innocent or is so afraid that they resort to more childish phrases. Don't you agree?

One last chapter after this. I hope you're prepared. Also, did you hear? Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared is going to be a TV show! I'm really excited!

Anyway, leave a review, tell me what you think, and check out the poll on my profile. The only vote there so far is mine, so I want to know what my readers _actually_ think. Until then!


	13. Acting on my Feelings

HUGE shoutout to Starry's Light for reviewing! I was super excited to see you show up in my email box! Thank you so much!

This chapter is much shorter than the last one, and doesn't answer all of the questions, but my little sister The Deviant read it and was very pleased with it! I hope you will be as well. See you at the bottom of the page.

* * *

Chapter 13: Acting on my Feelings

"Well, _now_ what do we do?"

My eyes fluttered behind closed lids at the voice. Was that… Feli? Yes, that's right. I had nearly forgotten about the countries while I was in the Ao Oni mansion.

.

.

.

Wait.

I sat up and screamed, "I _KNEW_ I RECOGNIZED THAT MANSION! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT AO ONI? IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE COMPUTER RPG HORROR GAMES!"

I looked around wildly. The twelve countries were, indeed, surrounding me on all sides, now leaning away from me in surprise. I was lying on the floor, and I quickly stood up to avoid getting even more germs on me. I was _so_ taking a shower once I got home.

"What happened?!" I asked at a slightly quieter volume. The countries looked at each other for a minute before looking back at me. "Well?"

"Um," Feli said, not meeting my eyes, "we were… sitting in the movie theater, waiting for the movie to start…"

"Si, si," Lovino nodded. "Then you passed out, and you and those kids you were talking to were on the movie screen."

"Yeah," Alfred continued. "We were watching you… like a movie. We couldn't do anything to help."

Everyone murmured in agreement. I looked around at them all, when I remembered: "Where are Ryan, Bobby, and Sally?" I asked. "And what about Naoki?"

Kiku looked like he was about to say something when he frowned at Naoki's name. The other countries looked at each other again. "I am thinking that we shouldn't worry about who is missing, but rather, why," Ivan finally said. More murmurs of agreement.

I frowned, but nodded anyway. It seemed to me that the whereabouts of the rogues and Naoki were also pretty important, but I was not in the mood to start an argument. I felt my forehead gingerly. No pain. I looked at myself. I was back in my normal clothes. Everything seemed fine… why did I still feel anxious?

"Let's hurry, then," I said as I squeezed past the countries into the aisle. "We have to find out who did this and why they were doing it." I strode out of the theater, followed quickly by the countries.

We were back in the grand inside of the theater hub. It was still empty. "Okay, let's split up," I told everyone. "Half of us will look in the other theaters, and—"

"Actually," Mathew said, pointing behind me, "I think what we're looking for is right there,"

I turned and saw he was pointing to a door with "DO NOT ENTER" written in bold red letters. "Good place to start," I said, "let's go." I opened the door and entered, followed closely behind by the countries.

The room was dark except for a few dimly flickering lights. Much cheaper than the room we'd just been in. Standing in the middle of the room was a box next to an old-fashioned film camera like you'd see in black and white movies. I looked into the box and pulled out a strip of recording tape, the thin kind with pictures in little squares on it. I held it up to the light to see the image: me, standing in a hallway with white walls and wooden floor boards.

"Why is this here…?" I muttered.

"Hello," a voice said behind me. I jumped, turned, and felt my mouth drop open.

She had pale skin, almost white as a sheet, and long, silver hair that went to her waist. She had snowy breasts and wide hips, but was otherwise fairly thin. Her purple eyes seemed to shine slightly. Where had I seen them before?

She was wearing a white dress with sleeves that flowed out just after her elbows. The skirt came down to her calves, revealing bare feet, and the front of her dress was cut low, revealing more than any dress should. She smiled at me, and my soul fluttered in my chest.

"H-hello," I said back, flushing at my stammer.

She stepped closer. "It's so nice to finally meet you, my dear," she said. "I've only seen pictures and heard from others. You look so much better in person."

"Golly, thanks… wait, I mean—" I shook my head and looked up at her face. "Ma'am, what's going on? We need to ask you a few questions. For starts, what are you doing in here? Do you have something to do with this? Where are Ryan, Bobby, and Sally? What happened to Naoki?"

The woman frowned and murmured "Naoki…?" Then she shook her head and smiled sweetly. "As for your little rogue friends… they're **dead**."

My heart dropped and I gasped. "D-dead? But how? Why!?"

"Children who don't listen to their mothers have no place in a family," she said with a shrug. "They failed the task they were given, rejected the welcome into my family, and thus…" She snapped her fingers.

"S-so… you're the one who did this." I gulped and blinked quickly. Now was _not_ the time to cry. "Who are you?"

"Ah, how rude of me. I am **Materna**."

 _Mother,_ I translated. "So, when you say you welcomed them into your family…?"

"Weren't they beautiful?" She smiled, almost dreamily. "Imagine my surprise when three little ones wandered into this theater I created. They seemed they would be useful, so I had my **real** children pursue them and have them remade—"

"You turned them into monsters," I said. Materna nodded. "Why? Why would you do that to them?"

"You make it sound so awful. I just invited them to be members of my lovely family, as long as they did one eensy, weensy job for me."

"And what job was that?"

"Isn't it obvious, my dear? To catch **you**."

"M…me?" I stepped back a pace. Materna stepped forward one.

"Yes… you're a bright girl; I'm sure you must have realized it on your journey through my children's house."

"Wait…" I thought a moment. "That file with my picture… that book with the picture of me and the HetaOni monster…"

"There you go," she cooed. "I was surprised you made it all the way through without your memories from that little game you enjoyed. You even managed to survive my final trick: to just **kill** you."

I shivered and backed up again. "So… this whole time… you killed real, living people… just to get to me?" I rubbed at my eye and stomped my foot as hard as I could. "That's… that's… that's not good! I'm _mad_ , okay? I'm really, _really_ mad!"

Materna's mouth popped open and she put a hand to her heart. Her sarcastic gesture made me angrier. I heard a snicker behind me, and I whipped around. "Don't laugh, guys, I'm being… serious?" There was no one behind me. The door was gone.

"Oh, my dear, sweet, Author… We can chat even more later. I have plans for the two of us that I'm sure you're **dying** to hear."

I turned to face her slowly. Anger was turning into fear. "W…what makes you think I'd go anywhere with _you_?"

She smiled,

and began to whisper.

I blinked and found myself swaying. Her voice was so… delicious; the way it wrapped around my spine and traced coolly along each hair on my body. I looked at her face. It was smooth and round; not a blemish to be seen. Her lips pursed and unpursed hypnotically. Her eyes were shining and beautiful. Where had I seen them before?

I reached out and took her hand.

* * *

To Be Concluded…

Ooooh boy! OOH BOY! It Krimah! (Sr Pelo)

Merry Christmas to everyone, especially to my lovely readers and reviewers! I'm very pleased with this final chapter, and I hope you are, too!

Now, the final book in the Cult Series, as I'm calling it, will be under the Hetalia section only. No crossovers here. Now, of course, there's the issue of _when_ I'll write the next story. See, I haven't thought about it in a while. I have an incredibly vague sense of where I want the story to go, but other than the prologue, the first part of the first chapter, the climax, and the end, I don't know what I want to do entirely.

To give myself some time to think about where I want the story to go, I plan to post at least one chapter about the perspective of the rogues, as Starry's Light suggested I do to help give those three more character depth. I've already got one done, so there's that. I'll probably post it in a few days, while I'm still on break. Those will be posted in the Hetalia/Ao Oni crossover section, so they should be easy to find.

Sooo… What did you think? Was it good, bad, in the middle? Leave a review, tell me what you thought, and check out some of the other stories I've written! There are a lot now, so there's plenty to choose from. I'll see you again soon, hopefully. Until then!


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